GROWL


Meaning of GROWL in English

growl /ɡraʊl/ BrE AmE verb

[ Date: 1600-1700 ; Origin: Probably from the sound ]

1 . [intransitive] if an animal growls, it makes a long deep angry sound ⇨ bark , snarl

growl at

The dog growled at me.

2 . [intransitive and transitive] to say something in a low angry voice SYN snarl :

‘Get out of my way,’ he growled.

growl at

‘Who are you?’ he growled at me.

—growl noun [countable] :

He heard a low growl behind him.

• • •

THESAURUS

■ different ways of saying something

▪ whisper to say something very quietly, using your breath rather than your full voice:

‘Don’t wake the baby,’ Jenny whispered.

▪ mumble to say something quietly without pronouncing the words clearly:

He mumbled his thanks.

▪ mutter to say something quietly, especially when you are annoyed but do not want someone to hear you complaining:

‘This is ridiculous,’ he muttered under his breath.

|

She muttered something about having to go home early.

▪ murmur to say something in a soft slow gentle voice:

She stroked his hair and murmured, ‘Don’t worry. You’ll be all right.’

▪ growl to say something in a low angry voice:

‘As I was saying,’ Lewis growled, ‘it needs to be finished today.’

▪ snarl to say something in a nasty angry way:

‘Get out of my way!’ he snarled.

▪ exclaim to say something suddenly and loudly:

‘How beautiful!’ she exclaimed.

▪ blurt out to suddenly say something without thinking, especially something embarrassing or secret:

It was partly nervousness that had made him blurt out the question.

▪ stammer/stutter to speak with a lot of pauses and repeated sounds, because you have a speech problem, or because you are nervous or excited:

‘I’ll, I’ll only be a m-moment,’ he stammered.

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English.      Longman - Словарь современного английского языка.