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growly
[ grou-lee ]
adjective
- resembling a growl in pitch and harshness:
This cold has made my voice growly.
- irritable; grouchy.
Other Words From
- growl·i·ness noun
Example Sentences
When speaking about his morally questionable character’s philosophy, Bell occasionally quotes Kramer’s phrases verbatim, with the same muted ferocity and growly voice as I’ve heard him do on screen.
Like Cash with Rick Rubin, Kristofferson teamed with producer Don Was to make a series of late-in-life LPs that didn’t just acknowledge the ravages of time but glorified them with growly, close-miked vocal performances set against intimate acoustic arrangements.
A contrived growly voice assured the audience that he really did know “tough guys” and Trump was one of the toughest, “still kicking their butts.”
“Over my career, I’ve been in the ring with some of the biggest, some of the baddest dudes on the planet,” the 70-year-old Hogan said in the growly voice he wields at stage villains.
“A lot of times in the playoffs, it’s making sure that you keep that energy full, that you cut off your losses and let it go. Then there’s times you want to keep it and eat it and let it burn for a while and find a different kind of energy source. … Tonight, you should be a little growly.”
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More About Growly
What does growly mean?
Growly means resembling a growl—a deep, rumbling grrrrr sound made in the throat, like a guard dog makes when there is an intruder.
The verb growl means to make such a sound. Growling is typically interpreted as an attempt to intimidate or show hostility.
Growling is most often associated with dogs, but other animals can make growly sounds, such as bears. People can do this, too—a young child might make growly noises when throwing a tantrum. Sometimes, it’s used in the context of a thing that’s making a deep rumbling sound, as in There were a lot of growly engine noises coming from the garage.
In the context of people, the word growl is more commonly used in a figurative way meaning to say something in a low, gruff, angry tone, as in “Get out now!” he growled.
For this reason, the word growly is sometimes used to mean grouchy or irritable.
Example: You know how growly he can get before he’s had his morning coffee.
Where does growly come from?
The first records of the word growly come from around 1920. Its base word, growl, comes from the Middle English groule, meaning “to rumble.” This word referred not to a rumbling of the throat but of the bowels.
We still use growl in this sense today—to say that your stomach is growly means that it is making rumbling sounds, typically because you’re hungry. The word growl always involves a low-pitched sound, but it also often implies that the sound is being made out of hostility or anger. Stomachs can’t get angry, of course, but saying that your stomach is growly can humorously imply that it’s upset because it wants more food.
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How is growly used in real life?
Growly can be used in the context of rumbling sounds, hungry stomachs, and grouchy people, but it’s not all that commonly used.
Try going from the top of your range all the way to your bottom in your head voice and see if you can make a growly noise like that like a puppy. Once you feel it you’ll always be able to access the puppy growl https://t.co/pYcrGQG5WM
— anthony green (@AnthonyGreen) November 6, 2020
Each Batman movie is gonna be shot so dark that by 2033 it will devolve into a fully black screen with a guy barking in a growly voice, some punching sounds, an overbearing orchestral score, and that's IT, for three hours
— Matthew Perpetua (@perpetua) August 24, 2020
I've got a growly tummy but if I eat now I'll be fridge raiding later.
— Ann (without the E) (@AnniMurf) August 18, 2020
Try using growly!
Which of the following words is NOT a synonym of growly?
A. rumbly
B. high-pitched
C. grumbly
D. grouchy
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