Meaning & use
knurly
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Meaning
adjectivecomparablerareliterary
Having a rough, lumpy, or twisted surface, especially of wood or old hands.
Grammar: Gradable: 'knurlier', 'knurliest'. Usually describes wood, trees, or skin.
Patterns
- knurly wood
- a knurly old tree
- knurly hands
The knurly old oak stood at the edge of the field.
His knurly hands showed years of hard work.
The knurly branch was too twisted to use as a walking stick.
Word forms
| comparative | knurlier |
|---|---|
| superlative | knurliest |
Common combinations
- knurly wood
- The sculptor preferred knurly wood for its texture.
- a knurly old tree
- A knurly old tree shaded the garden.
- knurly hands
- The farmer's knurly hands gripped the plow.
Synonyms and how they differ
- gnarled
- Much more common and means twisted and rough, especially of old trees or hands.
- knobbly
- Common in British English; means having small lumps, but not necessarily twisted.
- rugged
- Suggests a tough, uneven surface, often of landscapes or features, not specifically twisted wood.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: knurly or gnarly?
knurly vs gnarly
Informal and can mean both 'twisted' and 'excellent' in slang; 'knurly' is rare and only means physically rough or twisted.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'knurly' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Knurly' describes a rough, twisted surface, so carving a knurly piece of wood into something smooth makes sense. The other options contradict the meaning by describing smoothness or straightness.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “knurly”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.