growl vs roar

growl

verb
  • To express (something) by growling. 

  • To play a wind instrument in a way that produces a low-pitched rumbling sound. 

  • To utter a deep guttural sound, as an angry animal; to give forth an angry, grumbling sound. 

  • Of a wind instrument: to produce a low-pitched rumbling sound. 

  • To send a user a message via the Growl software library. 

noun
  • A similar sound made by a human. 

  • The rumbling sound made by a human's hungry stomach. 

  • An aggressive grumbling. 

  • A deep, rumbling, threatening sound made in the throat by an animal. 

  • A low-pitched rumbling sound produced with a wind instrument. 

roar

verb
  • To cry aloud; to proclaim loudly. 

  • Of animals (especially a lion), to make a loud deep noise. 

  • To make a loud noise in breathing, as horses do when they have a certain disease. 

  • To proceed vigorously. 

  • To be boisterous; to be disorderly. 

  • Generally, of inanimate objects etc., to make a loud resounding noise. 

  • To laugh in a particularly loud manner. 

  • To make a loud, deep cry, especially from pain, anger, or other strong emotion. 

  • to cry 

noun
  • A loud resounding noise. 

  • A show of strength or character. 

  • The deep cry of the bull. 

  • A long, loud, deep shout, as of rage or laughter, made with the mouth wide open. 

  • The cry of the lion. 

How often have the words growl and roar occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )