gnarled

Denoting the wretchedly twisted and/or brutishly hardened, this word evokes "snarl," a word with a similarly contorted referent. Hellish trees or branches are frequently described with this word; not quite as frequently it is applied to a man or his soul, but this latter usage paints a more vivid picture. A gnarled man has been through his share of hard times, and they have left their mark, either on hardened hands or a bent back or any of countless other debilitating afflictions. A gnarled soul denotes a loss or crippling of morality or judgment via misuse (self-inflicted or otherwise). In any case, to be gnarled is nearly always to have been unnaturally affected, and is seldom a process from which one can recover. The vitriolic old crone and her knotted walking stick are both gnarled, and neither will see softening before they return to the earth.