tangled

[ tang-guhld ]

adjective

1. snarled, interlaced, or mixed up:

   tangled thread.

2. very complicated, intricate, or involved:

   tangled bureaucratic procedures.

Word History and Origins

Origin of tangled¹

First recorded in 1580–90; tangle ¹ + -ed ²

Example Sentences

This pick also offers a convenient universal charging dock and 10W wireless charger, which saves valuable space that would otherwise be taken up by tangled cords.

From Popular-Science

The Hay Creek Fire had ignited two days earlier, on July 21, when a bolt of lightning sizzled into the tangled, rainless forest of the Whitefish Range in northwestern Montana.

From Outside Online

Clear away debris and leaves without the hassle of a tangled cord or short battery life.

From Popular-Science

Unit 111, with a patio overlooking the pool and a large living area Sara filled with flowers, had vanished in a tangled heap of concrete, metal and glass.

From Washington Post

I trust the Distance FLZ to help me navigate loose rock, tangled roots, and ever changing terrain.

From Outside Online

The relationships, and motivations of their chief participants, are as tangled and shady as you expect of the super-rich.

From The Daily Beast

He acquired $1 billion worth of art and tangled scandalously with the authorities.

From The Daily Beast

The drain clogs in the shower every few days, and the clump of tangled brown hair is springy between my fingers.

From The Daily Beast

Palmer is, of course, just as tangled up, as human, as everybody else--and he knows it.

From The Daily Beast

The wild-eyed young man had hopelessly tangled hair and wore rumpled baby-blue scrubs.

From The Daily Beast

Once the rope got tangled around Squinty's foot, and he jumped over it to get free.

From Project Gutenberg

Our nicely worked out system for supplying the troops has in a moment been tangled up into a hundred knotty problems.

From Project Gutenberg

The sunken eyes, the tangled masses of raven hair, the look of exhaustion and hopeless woe.

From Project Gutenberg

The pack-horses, with no riders at their heels to guide them, had tangled each other in the connecting-rope and stopped.

From Project Gutenberg

It was a tangled trail that Kip Burland followed that night, shadowing that man who wore a telegraph messenger's costume.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• complicated
• confused
• entangled
• intricate
• involved