gnarly

adjective5

1. •
   Having or characterized by gnarls; gnarled.

   • Out of one window I can see the garden, those mysterious deep-shaded arbors, the riotous old-fashioned flowers, and bushes and gnarly trees. — 1892
2. •
   (US, slang) Unpleasant, awful, ugly.

   • We're not talking about a lame chick and a gnarly guy. We're talking about a couple of far-out dudes. — 1981
3. •
   (US, slang) Of music or a sound: harsh.

   • [She] displays the same love of gnarly fuzztones and shout-it-out-loud choruses that began back in her daze^([sic]) with local all-girl rockers the Runaways. — 1986
4. •
   (US, slang) Dangerous; difficult.

   • When the swell struck, the North Shore got gnarly, and the wise ones hit the outer islands where the energy was just as juicy but a bit more organized. — 1977
5. •
   (slang, old-fashioned) Excellent; attractive.

   • There ain't nothing gnarlier (apparently) than slapping on some brightly coloured sunblock to ward off the blinding spectre of dangerous, snow-reflected sunlight. — 2000