tangled
Americanadjective
-
snarled, interlaced, or mixed up.
tangled thread.
-
very complicated, intricate, or involved.
tangled bureaucratic procedures.
Etymology
Origin of tangled
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.
“They have more resources to make good choices, hopefully, than a lot of folks do who get themselves tangled up in really bad subprime auto financing,” Van Alst said.
From Salon • Mar. 30, 2026
Ultimately, “Against the Dying of the Light” succeeds as a whole because it’s so layered, offering aesthetic beauty and room-filling atmosphere on the surface and tangled concepts to wrestle with the deeper you go.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 24, 2026
Hellerstein has also tangled with Donald Trump, rejecting a request by the US president to have his New York hush money case moved to federal court.
From Barron's • Mar. 24, 2026
And I knew instantly that whatever he meant was tangled and that my warmth might feel like comfort to him, but also, unconsciously, like danger.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 20, 2026
Whatever problems I had, she didn’t deserve to be tangled up in them.
From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
