Popular terms come and go with the times just as style trends do, but sometimes they stick seemingly out of nowhere. One example is the social media obsession with the word “gnarly” as of late. This nostalgic turn of phrase may remind you of surfboards and sun, but it’s being reinvented in an exciting way, and definitely is no longer your mother’s lingo, as young creators on TikTok have demonstrated. But its resurrection didn’t come from nowhere – it came from the influence of KATSEYE.

KATSEYE is a global (and multiethnic) six-member girl group that was created after Netflix’s popular show Pop Star Academy. They’re already proving to be a sensation, considering that they only just began releasing music together in 2024. If you’ve been vibing to the girl group’s new song, “Gnarly,” which has the word making a major comeback, here’s some context on its meaning. 

What does gnarly mean?

The answer to this question depends on who you ask (and maybe their age). As Oxford English Dictionary cites, “The earliest known use of the adjective gnarly is in the 1840s. OED’s earliest evidence for gnarly is from 1846, in the writing of Walter Savage Landor, poet and author.” In those days, the word was used for description in relation to plants. But since then, “gnarly” has gained many other meanings, and people have found many uses for it. Around the 1970s, it became a slang word that was popularized by surf culture, usually pointing out something wild. It was often used to describe a huge beach wave that would overwhelm a surfer. Basically, if something like “woah that wave was gnarly dude” comes to mind, you have the right idea (or at least the popularized one). 

But its meaning changed again over the years. Per Etymology Online, “It had spread to teen slang by 1982, where it meant both ‘excellent’ and ‘disgusting.'” So gnarly became synonymous with two extremes relatively quickly. But nowadays, the word is making a comeback in the best way. Its meaning has been diversified even further.  

What does the KATSEYE song mean?

The popularity of the song “Gnarly” has really taken the word to new heights. The whole point of the song is that you can call anything gnarly and it just works. The song opens with, “​​They could describe everything with one single word. You know? Like Fried chicken (Gnarly).” But later in the song the group uses the word differently. For example, before the chorus they sing “Don’t talk to me, You’re gnarly.” 

The multifaceted and slightly confusing meaning of the word is even reflected in the music video. Perhaps ironically, the high-powered pop song’s visual is almost overstimulating, which drives the point home. Everything is gnarly. As Teen Vogue reports about the video, “Yeah, there’s also the buzzing flies having sex in the music video. (The video is essentially stimulus overload.)” So, the current movement concerning the word gnarly is a very flexible one. The word basically has no meaning and all the meaning.  

Frequently Asked Questions 

Is gnarly a good or bad thing?

Gnarly can be a good or bad thing, depending on how you use it. The context of the word is what matters, but generally, people perceive it positively. 

What’s another word for gnarly?

It depends on how you want to use the word. For example, for a negative connotation, the word nasty may be appropriate. Otherwise, the word cool is a good replacement for gnarly.