A gnarled tree is twisted and strangely shaped because it is old.
...a large and beautiful garden full of ancient gnarled trees.
Synonyms: twisted, knotted, contorted, knotty More Synonyms of gnarled
2. adjective
A person who is gnarled looks very old because their skin has lines on it or their body is bent. If someone has gnarled hands, their hands are twisted as a result of old age or illness.
...gnarled old men.
His hands were gnarled with arthritis.
More Synonyms of gnarled
gnarled in British English
(nɑːld)
adjective
1.
having gnarls
2.
(esp of hands) rough, twisted, and weather-beaten in appearance
3.
perverse or ill-tempered
gnarled in American English
(nɑrld)
adjective
1.
knotty and twisted, as the trunk of an old tree
2.
roughened, hardened, sinewy, etc., as hands that do rough work
Also ˈgnarly or ˈgnarlier or ˈgnarliest
Word origin
ult. < ME knorre, a knot: see knur
Examples of 'gnarled' in a sentence
gnarled
Then a gnarled hand grabs my arm.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
This was no gnarled old desert king in flowing robes.
The Sun (2010)
You can camp near the sea beside one of two beaches, dramatically screened by gnarled olive trees.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
And the beams may have been strengthened with steel, but in some rooms they still resemble gnarled tree trunks.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
The soft earth tones of the stone are a perfect foil for the 350 gnarled olive trees that stud the grounds.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
A single gnarled old tree has been valued at 750,000.
The Sun (2008)
The medina here is a warren of gnarled old city streets that make you hide your smartphone and wish you didn't look like a tourist.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
1 (adjective)
Definition
rough, twisted, and knobbly, usually through age
a garden full of ancient gnarled trees
Synonyms
twisted
a wry, twisted smile
knotted
contorted
knotty
the knotty trunk of a hawthorn tree
knurled
2 (adjective)
Definition
rough, twisted, and knobbly, usually through age
an old man with gnarled hands
Synonyms
wrinkled
rough
Rugby's a rough game.
rugged
A look of disbelief crossed his rugged face.
leathery
His hair is untidy and his skin is quite leathery.
Additional synonyms
in the sense of knotty
Definition
full of knots
the knotty trunk of a hawthorn tree
Synonyms
knotted,
rough,
rugged,
bumpy,
gnarled,
knobby,
nodular
in the sense of leathery
Definition
looking or feeling like leather, esp. in toughness
His hair is untidy and his skin is quite leathery.
Synonyms
tough,
hard,
rough,
hardened,
rugged,
wrinkled,
durable,
leathern (archaic),
coriaceous,
leatherlike
in the sense of rough
Definition
(of work etc.) requiring physical rather than mental effort