tangled
Americanadjective
-
snarled, interlaced, or mixed up.
tangled thread.
-
very complicated, intricate, or involved.
tangled bureaucratic procedures.
Etymology
Origin of tangled
Explanation
Tangled is an adjective that describes a confused mass. You're likely to hear tangled used most often when referring to hair. If it's tangled, you can't brush or comb through it. Other than discussing hair, tangled can be used to refer to anything that's jumbled up and confused. Like that tangled pile of wires behind your television and computer that you keep tripping over. Tangled can also mean something highly complicated or intricate, like the relationships between ex-wives, ex-husbands and stepchildren in a family. The word tangled is most famous for being included in a well-known literary quote from Sir Walter Scott's poem, "Marmion" — "Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practise to deceive."
Vocabulary lists containing tangled
"American Names"
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Cormac McCarthy's "The Road"
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Where the Mountain Meets the Moon
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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.
Sharda Devi, 55, a settler's daughter, recalls the first arrivals "toiling in some of the harshest conditions" to carve plantations out of the tangled forests.
From Barron's • May 18, 2026
Because of this tangled ownership history, many Bede scholars had considered the manuscript lost since 1975.
From Science Daily • May 17, 2026
Perry’s tangled love for her mother finds full expression in the film’s final act, in which she assembles musicians and backing vocalists to flesh out “What Lies With You,” written after her mother’s death.
From Los Angeles Times • May 7, 2026
A system trained to get tangled in lies will never be as capable as one trained to engage honestly with reality.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 13, 2026
My first thought was that the yellow ring had gotten tangled in a bush, and while the monkeys were flouncing and dragging the net over the ground, the net had opened.
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
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.
