Meaning & use
fanged
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Meanings
adjectivecomparable
having long, sharp teeth called fangs.
Grammar: Mostly used before a noun: a fanged snake; rarely graded.
Patterns
- a fanged animal
- a fanged creature
A fanged snake slid out from under the rock.
The monster in the film had a fanged grin.
The fanged bats in the exhibit were smaller than I expected.
adjectivebefore a nounfigurativeliterary
dangerous or threatening in a sharp, cutting way.
Grammar: Figurative; the noun is usually a word, attack or remark.
Patterns
- a fanged remark
She answered with a fanged remark that silenced the room.
The critic wrote a fanged review that hurt the director.
His fanged humor made people nervous.
Common combinations
- fanged snake
- The fanged snake coiled in the grass.
- fanged monster
- The fanged monster growled in the dark.
- fanged predator
- A fanged predator hunts at night.
- fanged grin
- The wolf gave a fanged grin.
- fanged vampire
- Children dressed as fanged vampires at Halloween.
Synonyms and how they differ
- toothy
- Toothy means showing many teeth, but does not suggest the long pointed teeth of fanged.
- sharp-toothed
- Sharp-toothed is a plain description, while fanged gives a more menacing image.
- snaggletoothed
- Snaggletoothed means having crooked or uneven teeth, not pointed ones.
Opposites
Word family
- fang noun
- a long, sharp tooth
- fangs noun
- the pointed teeth of snakes, wolves and vampires
- fangless adjective
- without fangs, or harmless
Commonly confused: fanged or fanned?
fanged vs fanned
Fanned is the past tense of fan, meaning to move air, and has nothing to do with teeth.
Practice
What does a fanged animal have?
Choose one answer.
Fanged means having fangs, which are long, sharp teeth. The other features are not implied by the word.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “fanged”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.