Adjacent Words

Tangle definitions

	Tweet

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

TAN'GLE, v.t.
1. To implicate; to unite or knit together confusedly; to interweave or interlock, as threads, so as to make it difficult to ravel the knot.
2. To ensnare; to entrap; as, to be tangled in the folds of dire necessity.
Tangled in amorous nets.
3. To embroil; to embarrass.
When my simple weakness strays,
Tangled in forbidden ways.
[Entangle, the compound, is the more elegant word.]
TAN'GLE, v.i. To be entangled or united confusedly.
TAN'GLE, n. A knot of threads or other things united confusedly, or so interwoven as not to be easily disengaged; as hair or yarn in tangled.
1. A kind of sea weed.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a twisted and tangled mass that is highly interwoven; "they carved their way through the tangle of vines"
2: something jumbled or confused; "a tangle of government regulations" [syn: tangle, snarl, maze] v
1: force into some kind of situation, condition, or course of action; "They were swept up by the events"; "don't drag me into this business" [syn: embroil, tangle, sweep, sweep up, drag, drag in]
2: tangle or complicate; "a ravelled story" [syn: ravel, tangle, knot] [ant: ravel, ravel out, unknot, unpick, unravel, unscramble, untangle]
3: disarrange or rumple; dishevel; "The strong wind tousled my hair" [syn: tousle, dishevel, tangle]
4: twist together or entwine into a confusing mass; "The child entangled the cord" [syn: entangle, tangle, mat, snarl] [ant: disentangle, straighten out, unsnarl]

Merriam Webster's

I. verb (tangled; tangling) Etymology: Middle English tanglen, tagilen, probably short for entanglen, from Anglo-French entagler, entangler to prosecute (for), implicate Date: 14th century transitive verb 1. to involve so as to hamper, obstruct, or embarrass 2. to seize and hold in or as if in a snare ; entrap 3. to unite or knit together in intricate confusion intransitive verb 1. to interact in a contentious or conflicting way 2. to become entangled II. noun Date: 1615 1. a tangled twisted mass ; snarl 2. a. a complicated or confused state or condition b. a state of perplexity or complete bewilderment 3. a serious altercation ; dispute 4. neurofibrillary tangle III. noun Etymology: of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse th?ngull tangle, thang seaweed Date: 1536 a large seaweed

Oxford Reference Dictionary

1. v. & n. --v. 1 a tr. intertwine (threads or hairs etc.) in a confused mass; entangle. b intr. become tangled. 2 intr. (foll. by with) colloq. become involved (esp. in conflict or argument) with (don't tangle with me). 3 tr. complicate (a tangled affair). --n. 1 a confused mass of intertwined threads etc. 2 a confused or complicated state (be in a tangle; a love tangle). Etymology: ME var. of obs. tagle, of uncert. orig. 2. n. any of various seaweeds, esp. of the genus Laminaria or Fucus. Etymology: prob. f. Norw. taangel f. ON thöngull

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Tangle Tan"gle, v. i. To be entangled or united confusedly; to get in a tangle.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Tangle Tan"gle, n. 1. [Cf. Icel. [thorn]["o]ngull. See Tang seaweed.] (Bot.) Any large blackish seaweed, especially the Laminaria saccharina. See Kelp. Coral and sea fan and tangle, the blooms and the palms of the ocean. --C. Kingsley. 2. [From Tangle, v.] A knot of threads, or other thing, united confusedly, or so interwoven as not to be easily disengaged; a snarl; as, hair or yarn in tangles; a tangle of vines and briers. Used also figuratively. 3. pl. An instrument consisting essentially of an iron bar to which are attached swabs, or bundles of frayed rope, or other similar substances, -- used to capture starfishes, sea urchins, and other similar creatures living at the bottom of the sea. Blue tangle. (Bot.)See Dangleberry. Tangle picker (Zo["o]l.), the turnstone. [Prov. Eng.]

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Tangle Tan"gle, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Tangled; p. pr. & vb. n. Tangling.] [A frequentative fr. tang seaweed; hence, to twist like seaweed. See Tang seaweed, and cf. Tangle, n.] 1. To unite or knit together confusedly; to interweave or interlock, as threads, so as to make it difficult to unravel the knot; to entangle; to ravel. 2. To involve; to insnare; to entrap; as, to be tangled in lies. ``Tangled in amorous nets.'' --Milton. When my simple weakness strays, Tangled in forbidden ways. --Crashaw.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(tangles, tangling, tangled) 1. A tangle of something is a mass of it twisted together in an untidy way. A tangle of wires is all that remains of the computer and phone systems... N-COUNT: usu N of n 2. If something is tangled or tangles, it becomes twisted together in an untidy way. Animals get tangled in fishing nets and drown... She tried to kick the pajamas loose, but they were tangled in the satin sheet... Her hair tends to tangle... He suggested that tangling fishing gear should be made a criminal offence. VERB: get/be V-ed in n, V-ed, V, V n, also get/be V-ed 3. You can refer to a confusing or complicated situation as a tangle. I was thinking what a tangle we had got ourselves into. N-SING: oft N of n 4. If ideas or situations are tangled, they become confused and complicated. The themes get tangled in Mr. Mahfouz's epic storytelling... You are currently in a muddle where financial and emotional concerns are tangled together. VERB: usu passive, get/be V-ed, V-ed • tangled His personal life has become more tangled than ever. ADJ

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. a. 1. Interweave (confusedly), intertwine, complicate, perplex, snarl, entangle, mat. 2. Entrap, ensnare, catch. 3. Embroil, embarrass, perplex. II. n. 1. Complication, intricacy, perplexity, snarl. 2. Perplexity, embarrassment. 3. Tang, sea-tang, oar-weed, sea-girdles (Laminaria digitata).

Moby Thesaurus

Chinese puzzle, Gordian knot, Rube Goldberg contraption, a outrance, absorb, allure, bag, bait the hook, ball up, bandy with, battle, battle it out, birdlime, bump heads, burden, can of worms, catch, catch out, catch up, catch up in, coil, come up against, complex, complexity, complicate, complication, concern, confound, confuse, confusion, contend with, cope with, cramp, cripple, cross swords with, cumber, decoy, disagree with, dispute, draw in, embarrass, embrangle, embroil, encumber, engage, engage with, enmesh, ensnare, ensnarl, entangle, entanglement, entoil, entrammel, entrap, entwine, enweb, exchange shots, fetter, fight against, fight like devils, fight with, foul, foul up, gin, gnarl, go to loggerheads, grapple with, hamper, hamstring, handicap, harpoon, have it out, hobble, hook, hook in, impede, implicate, interest, interlace, intertwine, intertwist, interweave, inveigle, involve, jam, jumble, jungle, kink, knot, labyrinth, lame, land, lasso, lime, lock horns, louse up, lumber, lure, maze, meander, measure swords with, medley, mesh, mess, mess up, mishmash, mix up, mix-up, morass, muck, muck up, muddle, nail, net, noose, perplex, press down, puzzle, ramify, ravel, rope, sack, saddle with, scramble, screw up, settle it, shackle, shuffle, skein, snafu, snag, snake pit, snare, snarl, snarl up, sniggle, spear, spread the toils, strive with, struggle with, suck into, take, tangle up with, tangle with, tangled skein, tilt with, toil, trammel, trap, trip, try conclusions with, twist, web, webwork, weigh down, wheels within wheels, wilderness, wind, wrestle with