Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun The low, guttural, menacing sound made by an animal.
- noun A gruff surly utterance.
- intransitive verb To emit a low guttural sound or utterance.
- intransitive verb To speak in an angry or surly manner.
- intransitive verb To utter by growling.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To utter a deep guttural sound of anger or hostility, as a dog or a bear; hence, to emit a sharp rumbling sound, as the forces of nature.
- Hence To speak in an offended or discontented tone; find fault; grumble: as, he growled at being disturbed.
- To make reluctant; cause to grudge: used reflexively.
- To express by growling or grumbling.
- noun A deep snarling and threatening sound from the throat, expressive of the hostility of an animal; hence, the grumbling or faultfinding of an offended or discontented person.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- transitive verb To express by growling.
- noun The deep, threatening sound made by a surly dog; a grumbling sound.
- intransitive verb To utter a deep guttural sound, as an angry dog; to give forth an angry, grumbling sound.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun The deep, threatening sound made in the throat by an animal; a
grumbling sound. - noun The sound made by a hungry stomach.
- verb intransitive To utter a deep guttural sound, as an angry animal; to give forth an angry, grumbling sound.
- verb transitive To express (something) by growling.
- verb software To send a user a message via the Growl software library.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb to utter or emit low dull rumbling sounds
- noun the sound of growling (as made by animals)
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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"Well, just as he was goin 'to have one more scamper, he felt a growl -- a awful, fearful, deep _growl_," -- Phillis's voice sank to a bloodcurdling and continuous gurgle -- "and he terrembled, like this!
The Right Stuff Some Episodes in the Career of a North Briton Ian Hay 1914
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May 30, 2009 at 6: 28 AM just FYI this isn't offical growl stuff. a much more mature windows rendition of growl is called snarl, and is in its 3rd or 4th version, you can learn more about it here: [www. fullphat.net] phlyingpenguin
Growl For Windows Updates, Adds Gmail Notifications | Lifehacker Australia 2009
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And old Badger said in a tired growl from the depths of his armchair: --
Mrs. Miniver 1939
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There was a growl from the bystanders, and several started for the Venetian.
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When Great Britain seemed to stand alone among the jealous nations of Europe, she was not alone; for the first growl from the old lion brought to her assistance the whelps from across the seas, and the nations of the world learned that in the future they would have to fight, not Great Britain alone, but the Colonies from one end of the Empire to the other.
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But always the growl, which is sometimes more like a simian grunt, and always the squint, as though the enormity of the idiocy that's happening before his eyes is positively blinding.
Gran Torino Ed Howard 2009
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We took him to dog behaviorist and she actually said that was OK, a growl is a warning, but every time they play together it scares me.
And we've come to the end of the road jodifur 2007
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When after a tearful parting from their mothers and women folk, who believe or pretend to believe in the monster that swallows their dear ones, the awe-struck novices are brought face to face with this imposing structure, the huge creature emits a sullen growl, which is in fact no other than the humming note of bull-roarers swung by men concealed in the monster's belly.
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When after a tearful parting from their mothers and women folk, who believe or pretend to believe in the monster that swallows their dear ones, the awe-struck novices are brought face to face with this imposing structure, the huge creature emits a sullen growl, which is in fact no other than the humming note of bull-roarers swung by men concealed in the monsters belly.
Chapter 67. The External Soul in Folk-Custom. § 4. The Ritual of Death and Resurrection 1922
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"It smells like a human being around here," said Father Bear the instant he came up to Mother Bear, and his growl was as the rolling of thunder.
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