snarl

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. v. To growl viciously while baring the teeth.
2. v. To speak angrily or threateningly.
3. v. To utter with anger or hostility: snarled a retort.
4. n. A vicious growl.
5. n. A vicious, hostile utterance.
6. n. A tangled mass, as of hair or yarn.
7. n. A confused, complicated, or tangled situation; a predicament.
8. v. To become tangled or confused.
9. v. To tangle or knot (hair, for example).
10. v. To confuse; complicate.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. To growl sharply, as an angry or surly dog; gnarl.
2. Figuratively, to speak in a sharp and quarrelsome or faultfinding way; talk rudely or churlishly; snap.
3. To utter with a snarl: as, to snarl one's discontent; to snarl out an oath.
4. n. A sharp growl; also, a jealous, quarrelsome, or faultfinding utterance, like the snarling of a dog or a wolf.
5. To entangle; complicate; involve in knots: as, to snarl a skein of thread.
6. To embarrass; confuse; entangle.
7. To shape or ornament the exterior of (vessels of thin metal) by repercussion from within. See snarling-iron.
8. To make tangles or snarls; also, to become entangled.
9. n. A snare; any knot or complication of hair, thread, etc., which it is difficult to disentangle; also, a group of things resembling, in entanglement, such a knot: as, a snarl of yachts.
10. n. Figuratively, complication; intricacy; embarrassing condition: as, to get the negotiation into a snarl.
11. n. A vexatious controversy; a squabble. This sense may have been affected by snarl.
12. n. A knot in wood; a gnarl.

Wiktionary

1. n. A knot or complication of hair, thread, or the like, difficult to disentangle; entanglement; hence, intricate complication; embarrassing difficulty.
2. n. The act of snarling; a growl; a surly or peevish expression; an angry contention.
3. n. A growl, as of an angry or surly dog, or similar; grumbling sounds
4. v. To form raised work upon the outer surface of (thin metal ware) by the repercussion of a snarling iron upon the inner surface.
5. v. To entangle; to complicate; to involve in knots; as, to snarl a skein of thread.
6. v. To embarrass; to insnare.
7. v. To growl, as an angry or surly dog; to gnarl; to utter grumbling sounds.
8. v. To speak crossly; to talk in rude, surly terms.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. v. To form raised work upon the outer surface of (thin metal ware) by the repercussion of a snarling iron upon the inner surface.
2. v. To entangle; to complicate; to involve in knots.
3. v. To embarrass; to insnare.
4. n. A knot or complication of hair, thread, or the like, difficult to disentangle; entanglement; hence, intricate complication; embarrassing difficulty.
5. v. To growl, as an angry or surly dog; to gnarl; to utter grumbling sounds.
6. v. To speak crossly; to talk in rude, surly terms.
7. n. The act of snarling; a growl; a surly or peevish expression; an angry contention.

WordNet 3.0

1. v. make a snarling noise or move with a snarling noise
2. n. an angry vicious expression
3. v. twist together or entwine into a confusing mass
4. n. something jumbled or confused
5. v. utter in an angry, sharp, or abrupt tone
6. v. make more complicated or confused through entanglements
7. n. a vicious angry growl