tangle

¹

[tang-guhl]

verb (used with object)

tangled, tangling 

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)

tangled, tangling 

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. 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. alternative names (esp Scot) for oarweed

Other Word Forms

• tanglement noun
• tangler noun
• tangly adjective

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

Today, her transplant is tied up in a tangle of bureaucracy, her fate bound to a home she can’t live in and an address she can’t leave.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

He finds himself deeply connecting with these people, young and old, and learning from them, while becoming tangled in their lives.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

“Oh, what a tangled web we weave,” Alex says in response to the prosecutor questioning why he lied about his whereabouts on the night of the murders.

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They ended up sprawled on the bakehouse floor, a tragic tangle of limbs.

Read more on Literature

For there, in the unsteady light, was Lord Fredrick Ashton himself, tangled in cobwebs that he tried in vain to bat away.

Read more on Literature

Related Words

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