tangled

American  

[tang-guhld] / ˈtæŋ gəld /

adjective

1. snarled, interlaced, or mixed up.

   tangled thread.

2. very complicated, intricate, or involved.

   tangled bureaucratic procedures.

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Etymology

Origin of tangled

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

Example Sentences

Ghiyam tangled with ethical questions before landing on the idea that the AI was a net positive, as long as “the intention for its use was pure.”

From The Wall Street Journal

The more things change, the more they stay the same: That could have been the subtitle of Philip Stephens’s vivid and provocative book on the tangled relationship between Britain and Ireland.

From The Wall Street Journal

When magnetic fields become tangled and unstable, they can release energy in dramatic ways.

From Science Daily

But for anyone who’s tangled with an eating disorder — and the way its tendrils quietly siphon joy from even the simplest routines — it is something.

From Salon

The routes of competing undersea cables are convoluted and geopolitically tangled.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• chaotic
• knotted
• muddled
• trapped
• twisted