gnarled
adjective
ˈnär(-ə)ld 
1
: full of knots or gnarls : knotty
gnarled hands
gnarled olive trees
2
: crabbed in disposition, aspect, or character
a gnarled old veteran
Example Sentences
the old man's gnarled fingers
Recent Examples on the Web Turning up the Cacarica later that morning, the Atrato’s big sky was replaced by dense canopy that spotlighted a fetid marshland of gnarled roots and cativo trees. 
Jason Motlagh, Outside Online, 19 July 2016 Golden Gate Park got a charming surprise on Wednesday when a pristine blue-and-yellow Victorian home popped up on a gnarled tree stump. Jack Flemming, Los Angeles Times, 25 June 2022 The Times’ Louis Sahagún and Carolyn Cole journeyed to California’s White Mountains with scientists who are working to protect the iconic pines — the oldest of which, Methuselah, has been growing its gnarled limbs for 4,853 years. Sammy Rothstaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 30 June 2022 Planting is best done during the spring tides, and an additional 400 hectares (988 acres) are needed to restore the gnarled trees to their original coverage. Erika Page, The Christian Science Monitor, 21 June 2022 The route meanders past old watermills and gates of gnarled branches to the isolated, waterfront hamlet Fajã de Santo Cristo. Jeanine Barone, CNN, 26 May 2022 Despite the older woman’s kindness and hospitality, Frances doesn’t think twice before embarking on an affair with Melissa’s husband — a relationship that ends up threatening Frances’s gnarled bond with Bobbi. Inkoo Kang, Washington Post, 14 May 2022 Bristlecones are the short and gnarled guardians often seen growing seemingly out of rocks. Rivka Galchen, The New Yorker, 6 May 2022 Standing sentry outside the doors to the thick stone walled Great Room — said to be the former sugar boiling room — is a majestic weeping fig tree that, with its gnarled stature, appears far older than its mere 56 years. Jeanine Barone, Forbes, 26 Apr. 2022 See More
Jason Motlagh, Outside Online, 19 July 2016 Golden Gate Park got a charming surprise on Wednesday when a pristine blue-and-yellow Victorian home popped up on a gnarled tree stump. Jack Flemming, Los Angeles Times, 25 June 2022 The Times’ Louis Sahagún and Carolyn Cole journeyed to California’s White Mountains with scientists who are working to protect the iconic pines — the oldest of which, Methuselah, has been growing its gnarled limbs for 4,853 years. Sammy Rothstaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 30 June 2022 Planting is best done during the spring tides, and an additional 400 hectares (988 acres) are needed to restore the gnarled trees to their original coverage. Erika Page, The Christian Science Monitor, 21 June 2022 The route meanders past old watermills and gates of gnarled branches to the isolated, waterfront hamlet Fajã de Santo Cristo. Jeanine Barone, CNN, 26 May 2022 Despite the older woman’s kindness and hospitality, Frances doesn’t think twice before embarking on an affair with Melissa’s husband — a relationship that ends up threatening Frances’s gnarled bond with Bobbi. Inkoo Kang, Washington Post, 14 May 2022 Bristlecones are the short and gnarled guardians often seen growing seemingly out of rocks. Rivka Galchen, The New Yorker, 6 May 2022 Standing sentry outside the doors to the thick stone walled Great Room — said to be the former sugar boiling room — is a majestic weeping fig tree that, with its gnarled stature, appears far older than its mere 56 years. Jeanine Barone, Forbes, 26 Apr. 2022 See More Word History
Etymology
probably alteration of knurled
First Known Use
1603, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Kids Definition
gnarled
adjective
ˈnärld
: being twisted, rugged, or full of knots
a gnarled old oak tree