Growling or growl is a low, guttural vocalization

Animal communication

Animal communication is any behavior on the part of one animal that has an effect on the current or future behaviour of another animal. The study of animal communication, is sometimes called Zoosemiotics has played an important part in the...

 produced by predatory animals as a warning

Warning

Warning may refer to:- Signal :* Precautionary statement* Warning sign* Warning system* Warning , issued by a police officer in lieu of a citation following a traffic stop- Music :* Warning...

 to others, as a sign of aggression

Aggression

In psychology, as well as other social and behavioral sciences, aggression refers to behavior between members of the same species that is intended to cause humiliation, pain, or harm. Ferguson and Beaver defined aggressive behavior as "Behavior which is intended to increase the social dominance of...

, or to express anger

Anger

Anger is an automatic response to ill treatment. It is the way a person indicates he or she will not tolerate certain types of behaviour. It is a feedback mechanism in which an unpleasant stimulus is met with an unpleasant response....

. Low or dull rumbling noises may also be emitted by human beings when discontent with something or angry. The human sound is often termed "groaning".

Grrr is an onomatopoeic word which imitates the growling sound of predatory animals, and is often used with other related meanings. It is one of the rare pronounceable words of the English language

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 that consists solely of consonant

Consonant

In articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a speech sound that is articulated with complete or partial closure of the vocal tract. Examples are , pronounced with the lips; , pronounced with the front of the tongue; , pronounced with the back of the tongue; , pronounced in the throat; and ,...

s. Its most simple use is by children imitating animals. An example would be: "Daddy! Look at me! I'm a tiger

Tiger

The tiger is the largest cat species, reaching a total body length of up to and weighing up to . Their most recognizable feature is a pattern of dark vertical stripes on reddish-orange fur with lighter underparts...

! Grrr!" This word is also widely used in various titles to express growling.