snarl

Examples

• All

• Her gaze returns to the paddock beyond the grape arbor, a snarl of leafless vines in spring.

  Fiction book (1993)

• There were lots of traffic snarls between my workplace and Milton that night.

  Blog text (6)

• His thoughts clogged as if a comb working through his mind had stuck against a snarl.

  Fiction book (1997)

• When he stood up again, the snarl of cords in his hands resembled spaghetti.

  Fiction book (1996)

• The garden was a snarl of overgrown bushes, and the windows looked blank like sightless eyes.

  Fiction book (1998)

• There were troubles waiting back in the States, snarls to untangle, things that, true to form, she'd run away from.

  Fiction book (1994)

• All around it lay rusted pieces of metal, pipes, busted gears, and nasty snarls of cable and wire.

  Fiction book (1999)

• The project became a real snarl as team members struggled to agree on basic concepts.

• After multiple changes to the plan, the negotiations fell into a snarl that seemed impossible to resolve.

• Legal issues created a snarl that delayed the opening of the new community center.

Synonyms

M

mess

vssnarl

∞ 1.0

A situation in which things are untidy and confused

is more narrowly about tangled complexity not general untidiness

C

confusion

vssnarl

389 1.8

A time when things are not organized and people do not know what to think or do

is specifically a tangled external problem rather than internal uncertainty

M

maze

vssnarl

77 4.5

A confusing situation or system that is hard to understand

is wider meaning any tangled situation not only hard to navigate

C

conundrum

vssnarl

45 8.5

A confusing problem or question that is hard to solve

is broader applying to tangled situations not only single problems

Q

quagmire

vssnarl

25 7.9

A difficult situation that is hard to escape or solve

is more about tangled confusion to understand rather than getting trapped

S

snafu

vssnarl

• Slang

15 8.8

A confused, messy situation that causes trouble

is more about complex tangled problems rather than sudden chaos

T

tangle

vssnarl

13 5.5

A confused situation that is hard to understand or solve

is about general complex situations rather than literally mixed parts

M

muddle

vssnarl

9 5.0

A confused, disorganized situation where things are not in order

is more specific about tangled complexity rather than general disorder

H

head-scratcher

vssnarl

• Informal

4 7.7

A problem that is hard to understand or solve

is about complexity that resists unraveling rather than simple puzzlement

T

tricky situation

vssnarl

4 3.7

A difficult situation that is hard to deal with

is about tangled complexity to understand rather than mere awkwardness

P

perplexity

vssnarl

4 7.5

Feeling confused because something is hard to understand

is about external tangled situations rather than inner puzzled feeling

B

baffler

vssnarl

1 8.8

A person or thing that is hard to understand and confuses people

is focused on tangled situations rather than the confusing source

K

knotty situation

vssnarl

7.7

A difficult problem with no easy solution

is more about tangled difficulty to understand not only solvability

K

knotty issue

vssnarl

6.8

A difficult problem that is hard to solve

is focused on tangled situations broadly rather than a single problem

M

muddlement

vssnarl

7.9

A state of confusion where things are unclear or messy

is focused on tangled complication rather than simple unclear disorder

B

baff

vssnarl

• UK

9.9

Something that is hard to understand or solve

is about complex situations rather than a puzzling object or person

Antonyms

C

clarity

152 3.0

How easy it is to understand what someone says or writes

S

simplicity

63 1.7

Being easy to understand and not complicated

Compounds

S

snarl-up

• UK

7.2

A traffic jam where cars block each other and cannot move

How Tangled

entanglement

3 6.3

mire

5 8.1

snarl

3 7.7

tangle

22 3.9

Surface Forms

Etymology