snarls 1 of 3

noun

plural of snarl
as in jams
a crowded mass (as of cars) that impedes or blocks movement to no avail, the city promotes carpooling to help ease the traffic snarls that always accompany rush hour

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snarls

2 of 3

verb (1)

present tense third-person singular of snarl
as in barks
to speak sharply or irritably she snarled at me after I kept badgering her with questions

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

snarls

3 of 3

verb (2)

present tense third-person singular of snarl
as in knots
to twist together into a usually confused mass you'll be awfully sorry if you snarl your fishing line

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of snarls
Noun
To get to Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, take the metro (look for the brown Metro Line 9) to avoid getting entangled in traffic snarls. — Alan Chazaro, Condé Nast Traveler, 26 Oct. 2026 Around her, Youth builds an impressively frantic web of relationships and plot snarls. — Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 18 Sep. 2026 This year’s Labor Day marks the unofficial end of summer with closures, travel snarls and record gas prices in California. — Vince Basada, Sacbee.com, 7 Sep. 2026 The wildly popular Instagram page was offline for a hot minute, leaving the general pop pining for videos on the myriad zany happenings in our city, from traffic snarls and celebrity shenanigans to animal encounters and fights outside the club. — Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 30 July 2026 The state Department of Transportation is scheduled to install temporary three-way stop signs at the intersections during a road project that’s already created mind-numbing traffic snarls and angry and confused drivers. — Joe Marusak, Charlotte Observer, 23 July 2026 Drivers should brace for traffic snarls this summer when South Elgin’s State Street bridge over the Fox River is reduced to one lane for road resurfacing work. — Gloria Casas, Chicago Tribune, 29 May 2026 Attendees on Sunday reported traffic snarls in all directions. — Cindi Andrews, IndyStar, 25 May 2026 Travel industry leaders and major airlines warn the proposal would devastate tourism, choke international cargo and create massive operational snarls. — Josh Funk, Los Angeles Times, 24 May 2026
Verb
Day to day, as the city grows, there’s also the question of traffic, which snarls the city as public transit initiatives have repeatedly struggled. — Jacqui Palumbo, CNN Money, 21 July 2026 Security snarls The TSA PreCheck line at terminal B in LaGuardia Airport in East Elmhurst, Queens, New York City, on March 27, 2026. — Leslie Josephs, CNBC, 28 Mar. 2026 Beyond the red tape that snarls any new apartment, condominiums confront an additional hurdle. — M. Nolan Gray, The Atlantic, 13 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for snarls
  1. jams
  2. barks
  3. knots
  4. shouts
  5. tangles
  6. yells
  7. screams
Noun
  • The 24-piece box comes with miniature jars of jams and spreads like fig and cardamom, caramel and dark chocolate, rhubarb and strawberry, apricot and honey, and more.
    — Caley Sturgill, Southern Living, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Drink Cider at an Apple Orchard Venture 20 minutes south of Galena to Orchard Landing Apple Farm to pick 14 kinds of apples apples, sample hard cider, and grab some jams, jellies, and cider donuts to go.
    — Julia Sayers Gokhale, Midwest Living, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of jams
Verb
  • Others work automatically whenever the canine barks too loudly or too much.
    — BestReviews, Chicago Tribune, 18 Sep. 2026
  • New people can still require an adjustment period for Lainey, who initially barks when meeting someone unfamiliar.
    — Ashley Vega, PEOPLE, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of barks
Verb
  • No matter how many knots a lawyer ties themselves in to get there, legality is not legitimacy.
    — Jon Duffy, Mercury News, 29 Nov. 2025
  • Stories like these usually lurch from one contrivance and complication to the next, but Chad Powers knots itself into a genuinely thorny conflict by the finale.
    — Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 29 Sep. 2025
Definition of knots
Verb
  • At a stoplight, a little girl jumps into the car’s backseat, shouts, ‘Go lady!
    — Rick Kogan, Chicago Tribune, 27 Oct. 2026
  • Another man later shouts that Niemi and his video crew should be shot.
    — James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of shouts
Verb
  • So here's the part where DC's comic book logic tangles itself into knots.
    — Sergio Pereira, Space.com, 15 Aug. 2026
  • But consent decrees are legally and politically complicated, and the treatment of migrant children further tangles the situation.
    — Sonja Sharp, Los Angeles Times, 24 July 2026
Definition of tangles
Verb
  • Northwestern coach Chris Collins yells to his players during a Big Ten Tournament game March, 12, 2026, at the United Center.
    — Colleen Kane, Chicago Tribune, 28 Oct. 2026
  • Along the route, another driver yells out their window to say hi to Hollywell, while Ayo spots two friends on bicycles and greets them with a cheerful grin and full-body wave.
    — Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of yells
Verb
  • Kirkland Signature Pecan Halves Nothing screams Thanksgiving like pecans.
    — Jenn de la Vega, Bon Appetit Magazine, 27 Oct. 2026
  • Video of the service captures screams erupting inside the church as worshippers ran to his side and called for help.
    — Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of screams

Browse Nearby Words

snarling
snarls
snarly
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Cite this Entry

“Snarls.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/snarls. Accessed 29 Oct. 2026.

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