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fankle

British  
/ ˈfæŋkəl /

verb

  1. to entangle

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. a tangle; confusion

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of fankle

from fank a coil of rope, from fang , obsolete variant of vang

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

He frequently plucks from his tremendous word hoard gems that will send you to the dictionary: bonxie, fankle, rupestral, stramash, zawn.

From The Wall Street Journal Jun. 12, 2026

His cross was accurate but Obileye got in a fankle and diverted home to unlock the door.

From BBC Dec. 21, 2022

“Those Eagles people sure know how to fankle the season-ticket holders at FedEx — no wonder they’re the only ones left in the fourth quarter.”

From Washington Post Apr. 14, 2022

Besides, there is far less chance of a "fankle," to use a most expressive Scotch word, than when four or more flies are used.

From Scotch Loch-Fishing by Senior, William

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