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.
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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
-
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
-
tousledsimple
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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
In 2015 he became the first actively campaigning presidential candidate to host “SNL”; a year later, in the heat of the general election, came the hair tousle heard ’round the world on “The Tonight Show.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 13, 2020
Late-night host Jimmy Fallon has tried to live down his famed hair tousle interview of the then-candidate Trump.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 9, 2020
On the porch again, Sherlock kisses me and pants as I tousle his ears.
From "The Running Dream" by Wendelin Van Draanen
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
Allen replies with a good-natured laugh and tousles the boy’s blond hair.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 21, 2017
He tousles her wild hair, so like Devi's, and says to her, as he has before, "She has a lot of responsibilities, and it's hard for her to think about other things, to relax."
From The Verge ● Aug. 29, 2015
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
Expect to see a lot of pencil skirts, artfully tucked-in white button downs and tousled blond hair this summer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 25, 2026
Even today, Maddell does his best to keep his identity hidden, permanently hiding his face behind his tousled, neon pink fringe.
From BBC ● Jan. 5, 2026
Papa tousled Frankie’s hair, then took the ball and placed it on the floor next to the table.
From "The Red Umbrella" by Christina Gonzalez
“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
Mr. Benedict said with a fond smile, tousling her hair.
From "The Mysterious Benedict Society" by Trenton Lee Stewart
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.
