How to Use gnarled in a Sentence

gnarled

adjective
  • The site of the gnarled hangar is fenced off and nearby streets are closed.
    — Thao Nguyen, USA TODAY, 1 Feb. 2024
  • Prickly pear cactus and gnarled olive trees cling to the slope.
    — Andrea Frazzetta, National Geographic, 29 Dec. 2019
  • His bike had flipped and came to rest a gnarled mess next to a guardrail on the side of the road.
    — Charles Rabin, miamiherald, 15 Aug. 2017
  • Short, buff grasses grew in the valley along with a few gnarled trees.
    — Kent Russell, Harper's Magazine, 11 May 2022
  • It’s served on a wide, white, squishy bun, with the meat and gnarled onions hanging out.
    — George Motz, Southern Living, 6 May 2026
  • Keep an eye out for gnarled stands of ancient bristlecone pines along the way.
    — Shawnté Salabert, Outside Online, 6 Nov. 2019
  • Streets once lined with lush oak trees are now filled with gnarled branches and debris.
    — Moriah Balingit, Washington Post, 18 Sep. 2017
  • Clusters of grapes dripped from gnarled vines, and garden gnomes stood watch all over the place.
    — Jazmine Hughes, New York Times, 28 Sep. 2022
  • One woman wore a red half-mask accented with gnarled antlers.
    — Christopher Borrelli, Chicago Tribune, 12 Dec. 2022
  • The head weighs a little over two pounds and easily cuts through gnarled wood.
    — Emily Reed, Outside Online, 12 June 2018
  • Some lay on the sand, their gnarled roots stripped bare; others pointed jaggedly up at the clouds.
    — Alexandra Schwartz, New Yorker, 25 Aug. 2025
  • His white hair had not been cut for many months and hung down over his gnarled ears and forehead like a forkful of hay.
    — Frank C. Hibben, Outdoor Life, 13 Mar. 2023
  • The oil and gilding on silk depicts a gnarled cypress growing out of a pile of rocks.
    — Alicia Ault, Smithsonian Magazine, 29 Jan. 2020
  • Beard lichens hang from the branches and cyclamens push up among tree roots that bulge from the earth like gnarled claws.
    — Catherine Fairweather, Condé Nast Traveler, 1 July 2025
  • Once lined with the gnarled trunks and silvery-green foliage of olive trees, the area has been stripped nearly bare.
    — Griff Witte, Washington Post, 15 Jan. 2018
  • Inside the cave were four gnarled figurines carved from cottonwood root, each about three feet long.
    — Carolyn Wells, Longreads, 8 Nov. 2022
  • The route drops back down to the desert floor, slipping among picnic sites in an unassuming gnarled path.
    — Mare Czinar, azcentral, 28 Nov. 2019
  • Once planted, the tree stretched heavenward like a gnarled finger.
    — Mike Kerrigan, WSJ, 14 Dec. 2017
  • Deep inside, flocks of birds swoop around a single, gnarled tree, rivulets of water flowing from its base.
    — Stephen Ferry, National Geographic, 26 Nov. 2019
  • Three bears tiptoe through a haunted mansion that just happens to be the inside of a gnarled old tree.
    — Melissa Wiley, WIRED, 31 Oct. 2011
  • The trees are famed for their gnarled appearance and have been featured in Western art.
    — Michael Kohn | The Bulletin, oregonlive, 15 Dec. 2022
  • Bristlecones are the short and gnarled guardians often seen growing seemingly out of rocks.
    — Rivka Galchen, The New Yorker, 6 May 2022
  • Some wave their tentacles from holes in the gnarled stems, like flowers at a mermaid’s wedding.
    — Joanna Klein, New York Times, 25 June 2018
  • The road traced seaside cliffs, which were lined with gnarled pines stretching out over the alluring water.
    — Travel + Leisure, 14 May 2020
  • Ruffed grouse are attracted by the fruit of a small, gnarled growth called the Oregon crab apple.
    — Worth Matthewson, Outdoor Life, 2 Oct. 2025
  • But rooted to the front steps was an enormous ceiba tree, with orchids growing out of the gnarled, hide like trunk.
    — Paula McLain, Town & Country, 12 July 2018
  • Dating back to the turn of the century, this old coaching inn is named for the gnarled old vine that shades its terrace.
    — Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Sep. 2017
  • Just me and some friends eating, like, lo mein and stir-fry at this massive gnarled war table while the Phillies are on.
    — Brian Grubb, Vulture, 21 July 2024
  • Beyond the village, the group walked up Mamarut in high winds, stopping to rest in a screen of low, gnarled oaks.
    — New York Times, 20 Apr. 2022
  • Its surface bears the shadow of the gnarled plant that’s next to it on which rests the shadow of an otherwise unseen bird.
    — Christopher Byrd, Washington Post, 27 Feb. 2020

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'gnarled.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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