tangle

¹

[ tang-guhl ]

verb (used with object)

, tan·gled, tan·gling.

1. to bring together into a mass of confusedly interlaced or intertwisted threads, strands, or other like parts; snarl.
2. to involve in something that hampers, obstructs, or overgrows:

   The bushes were tangled with vines.

3. to catch and hold in or as if in a net or snare.

verb (used without object)

, tan·gled, tan·gling.

1. to be or become tangled.
2. Informal. to come into conflict; fight or argue:

   I don't want to tangle with him over the new ruling.

noun

1. a tangled condition or situation.
2. a tangled or confused mass or assemblage of something.
3. a confused jumble:

   a tangle of contradictory statements.

   Synonyms: fight, dispute, argument, altercation, maze, labyrinth, snarl

4. Informal. a conflict; disagreement:

   He got into a tangle with the governor.

tangle

²

[ tang-guhl ]

noun

1. any of several large seaweeds of the genus Laminaria.

tangle

¹

/ ˈtæŋɡəl /

noun

1. a confused or complicated mass of hairs, lines, fibres, etc, knotted or coiled together
2. a complicated problem, condition, or situation

verb

1. to become or cause to become twisted together in a confused mass
2. introften foll bywith to come into conflict; contend

   to tangle with the police

3. tr to involve in matters which hinder or confuse

   to tangle someone in a shady deal

4. tr to ensnare or trap, as in a net

tangle

²

/ ˈtæŋɡəl /

noun

1. See oarweed
   alternative names (esp Scot) for oarweed

Derived Forms

• ˈtangly, adjective
• ˈtanglement, noun
• ˈtangler, noun

Other Words From

• tangle·ment noun
• tangler noun
• tangly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of tangle¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English tangilen, tagilen “to entangle,” probably from a Scandinavian language; compare Swedish (dialect) taggla “to disarrange”

Origin of tangle²

First recorded in 1530–40; from a Scandinavian language; compare Old Norse thǫngull “strand of tangle,” Norwegian tang

Word History and Origins

Origin of tangle¹

C14 tangilen, variant of tagilen, probably of Scandinavian origin; related to Swedish dialect taggla to entangle

Origin of tangle²

C16: of Scandinavian origin: compare Danish tang seaweed

Example Sentences

Say goodbye to tangles—this 19-inch, three-tier design allows you to easily store necklaces of a variety of shapes and sizes.

From Popular-Science

Meyer, who founded The Commons Project Foundation last year, says that as they began building the coronavirus platform, they realized that the confounding tangle of regulations was a major obstacle to reviving travel.

From Fortune

Similarly, in subatomic physics, renormalization tells physicists when they can deal with a relatively simple proton as opposed to its tangle of interior quarks.

From Quanta Magazine

You can fish this setup as a hand line, but tangles are inevitable.

From Popular-Science

Tenet’s Labor Day weekend release, then, faces a tangle of uncertainty.

From Fortune

The process was a maddening tangle of unreliable tracking, delays, and confusion, the family member said.

From The Daily Beast

The tangle of enormous fake diamonds resting on top of her cleavage sparkles at every flashbulb.

From The Daily Beast

It was litigation as entertainment—a farcical tangle of events that titillated a ready, willing, and able country.

From The Daily Beast

Pettet threw his head back and laughed as he recounted his tangle with the police.

From The Daily Beast

The profession remains a knotty tangle of influences and causations and aggravations and insurers.

From The Daily Beast

You only misunderstand each other, and with a little good will on both sides you can easily get out of your tangle.'

From Project Gutenberg

She went and stood at an open window and looked out upon the deep tangle of the garden below.

From Project Gutenberg

I saw three kinds of sea-tangle, but could only obtain a specimen of one, resembling that which I had seen in 44° South lat.

From Project Gutenberg

George jerked his peaked cap from his head, revealing a tangle of unkempt red hair.

From Project Gutenberg

The orchard ran down a slope of perhaps half an acre to the ferny tangle of the brook bed.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• confuse
• embroil
• enmesh
• entangle
• perplex
• snarl
• tie up
• trap