tousle
Americanverb (used with object)
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tousles,
present (3rd person singular)
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tousled,
past participle, past
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tousling
present participle
-
to disorder or dishevel.
The wind tousled our hair.
-
to handle roughly.
noun
-
a disheveled or rumpled mass, especially of hair.
-
a disordered, disheveled, or tangled condition.
verb
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to tangle, ruffle, or disarrange
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to treat roughly
noun
-
a disorderly, tangled, or rumpled state
-
a dishevelled or disordered mass, esp of hair
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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touslesimple
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touslessimple
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have tousledperfect
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has tousledperfect
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am touslingprogressive
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are touslingprogressive
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is touslingprogressive
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have been touslingperfect progressive
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has been touslingperfect progressive
Past
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tousledsimple
-
had tousledperfect
-
was touslingprogressive
-
were touslingprogressive
-
had been touslingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of tousle
1400–50; late Middle English touselen (v.); cognate with Low German tūseln. See touse, -le
Explanation
To tousle is to mess up. The disadvantage of riding in a flashy red convertible is that the wind might tousle your careful hairdo. This old verb with a solid English pedigree has earned the right to only a part-time job after its 600 years of service to the language. Though it means "to make untidy," it's a rare writer these days who applies it to anything but hair — and then usually only by way of the adjective tousled. The origin is Germanic, and tousle is closely related to both tussle and tease.
Vocabulary lists containing tousle
Ender's Game
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Uglies
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"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" by James Thurber
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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.
See Examples For:
"You tousle its mane and pull its ears, but all the time you’re thinking, those claws, those claws, those claws."
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2024
She pulled off a beanie to reveal a tousle of brown hair.
From New York Times ● Mar. 11, 2024
With his Little Prince notebook and his 2am tousle, he could still pass for a student, even at 42, with a shelf full of silverware.
From The Guardian ● May 10, 2019
The man he called Uncle Walt was kind to him and would tousle his hair.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2018
I knew that tousle was too perfect to be disinterested bedhead.
From "Love, Hate & Other Filters" by Samira Ahmed
The man in this mugshot gets hives if he even thinks about loosening his tie; he passes out if someone tousles his hair.
From Slate ● Aug. 24, 2023
She’s a brunette with a slight frame who rarely tousles her hair or wears heavy eyeliner.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 2, 2022
Dune Beautiful people looking wistfully at each other across sweeping landscapes as the wind tousles their hair— the first few seconds of the Dune trailer almost feel like a perfume commercial.
From The Verge ● Jul. 24, 2021
Allen replies with a good-natured laugh and tousles the boy’s blond hair.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 21, 2017
Lenny even takes the meatloaf out of the oven for my mom and tousles Bryce’s hair when Bryce shows up to get his plate of meatloaf.
From "The Benefits of Being an Octopus" by Ann Braden
With her distinctive husky voice, tousled mane of blonde hair and black eyeliner, Tyler was instantly recognisable as the queen of the 1980s power ballad.
From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026
Do not worry about making them perfectly uniform; their slightly tousled edges are part of the charm.
From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2026
Her tousled hair and bold eyeliner set fashion trends worldwide, while her performances cemented Bardot as a cinematic trailblazer.
From BBC ● Dec. 28, 2025
There are tousled children in thick wool sweaters and copper pots hanging from the ceiling.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 4, 2025
No. There in the corner, I spotted a familiar head of tousled brown curls and released my held breath.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
“Eighth grade isn’t so bad, is it, Son?” he said, tousling the boy’s hair.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 22, 2026
Unlike oil-drum-style alternatives nearby, some had triangular tops with tiny, circular openings that would deter rummaging and prevent wind from tousling the garbage.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 16, 2021
Mike Kush punches the gas on a golf cart, the wind tousling his grizzled ponytail.
From The Guardian ● Nov. 25, 2019
Then, yes, dude was snubbed, even after going on an apology tour for tousling Donald Trump’s hair.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 12, 2018
She turned, wiping her eyes furiously, and stormed up the beach, the breeze tousling her hair.
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
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.
