gnarl

gnarl
    n 1: something twisted and tight and swollen; "their muscles
         stood out in knots"; "the old man's fists were two great
         gnarls"; "his stomach was in knots" [syn: {knot}, {gnarl}]
    v 1: twist into a state of deformity; "The wind has gnarled this
         old tree"
    2: make complaining remarks or noises under one's breath; "she
       grumbles when she feels overworked" [syn: {murmur}, {mutter},
       {grumble}, {croak}, {gnarl}]
    

Gnarl \Gnarl\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Gnarled}; p. pr. & vb. n.
   {Gnarling}.] [From older gnar, prob. of imitative origin; cf.
   G. knarren, knurren. D. knorren, Sw. knorra, Dan. knurre.]
   To growl; to snarl.
   [1913 Webster]

         And wolves are gnarling who shall gnaw thee first.
                                                  --Shak.
   [1913 Webster]
    

Gnarl \Gnarl\, n. [See {Gnar}, n.]
   a knot in wood; a large or hard knot, or a protuberance with
   twisted grain, on a tree.
   [1913 Webster]
    

116 Moby Thesaurus words for "gnarl":
      anamorphism, anamorphosis, asymmetry, bend, bilge, blain, bleb,
      blister, blob, boss, bow, bubble, buckle, bulb, bulge, bulla, bump,
      bunch, burl, button, cahot, chine, clump, coarsen, color, condyle,
      contort, contortion, convex, crook, crookedness, crumple,
      detorsion, deviation, disproportion, distort, distortion, dowel,
      ear, flange, flap, flush, frown, gall, glare, glower, granulate,
      growl, grumble, handle, hill, hiss, horripilate, hump, hunch,
      imbalance, irregularity, jog, joggle, knob, knot, knur, knurl, lip,
      look daggers, loop, lopsidedness, lower, lump, mantle, mole,
      mountain, nevus, nub, nubbin, nubble, papilloma, peg, pimple,
      quirk, redden, rib, ridge, ring, rough, rough up, roughen, scowl,
      screw, shoulder, snap, snarl, spine, spit, spring, stud, style,
      tab, torsion, tortuosity, tubercle, tubercule, turn, turn awry,
      twist, unsymmetry, verruca, vesicle, wale, warp, wart, welt,
      wrench, wrest, wring, writhe