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tangle

UK:^*^*UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˈtæŋg^əl/US:USA pronunciation: IPA and respellingUSA pronunciation: IPA/ˈtæŋgəl/ ,USA pronunciation: respelling(tang′gəl)

Inflections of 'tangle' (v): (⇒ conjugate)

tangles: v 3rd person singular

tangling: v pres p

tangled: v past

tangled: v past p

tan•gle¹ /ˈtæŋgəl/USA pronunciation v., -gled, -gling, n.
v.

to (cause to) be brought together into a mass of confused parts or strands;
entangle: [~ + object]The wind tangled the girl's long hair.[no object]Those puppet strings tangle too easily.
to involve in something that prevents freedom of movement:[~ + object]The bushes were tangled with vines.
to catch and hold in or as if in a net or snare:[~ + object]tangled in a web of lies.
Informal Terms to come into conflict;
fight or argue:[no object]I don't want to be around when those two tangle.

n. [countable]

a tangled situation;
a tangled mass:The deer was caught in a tangle of vines.
a confused mess;
maze:a tangle of lies and contradictions.
Informal Termsa conflict;
disagreement:I got into a tangle with the manager.

tan•gle¹ (tang′gəl),USA pronunciation v., -gled, -gling, n.
v.t.

to bring together into a mass of confusedly interlaced or intertwisted threads, strands, or other like parts;
snarl.
to involve in something that hampers, obstructs, or overgrows:The bushes were tangled with vines.
to catch and hold in or as if in a net or snare.

v.i.

to be or become tangled.
Informal Termsto come into conflict;
fight or argue:I don't want to tangle with him over the new ruling.

a tangled condition or situation.
a tangled or confused mass or assemblage of something.
a confused jumble:a tangle of contradictory statements.
Informal Termsa conflict;
disagreement:He got into a tangle with the governor.

Scandinavian; compare Swedish (dialect, dialectal) taggla to disarrange
Middle English tangilen, tagilen to entangle 1300–50

tan′gle•ment, n.
tan′gler, n.
tan′gly, adv.

tan•gle² (tang′gəl),USA pronunciation n.

Plant Biology, Microbiologyany of several large seaweeds of the genus Laminaria.

Scandinavian; compare Old Norse thǫngull strand of tangle, Norwegian tang
1530–40

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

tangle /ˈtæŋɡ^əl/ n

a confused or complicated mass of hairs, lines, fibres, etc, knotted or coiled together
a complicated problem, condition, or situation

to become or cause to become twisted together in a confused mass
(intransitive) often followed by with: to come into conflict; contend
(transitive) to involve in matters which hinder or confuse
(transitive) to ensnare or trap, as in a net

Etymology: 14th Century tangilen, variant of tagilen, probably of Scandinavian origin; related to Swedish dialect taggla to entangleˈtangly adj

'tangle' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):

entangle - haywire - involve - knot - mat - mop - ravel - shag - snarl-up - tousle - twine - twist - unsnarl - bewilderment - complex - ferhoodle - logjam - mix-up - muss - perplex - pester - raffle - tangleberry - tangled - unknit - untangle - web - sea tangle - snarl

In Lists: Villagers and heroes, New vocabulary, more...

Synonyms: knot, snarl, mess, mat, clot, more...

Collocations: tangled up [the wires, my laces], [the wires] (got) tangled (up), tangled (up) in [her clothes, the sheets, a net, a lie], more...

🗣️Forum discussions with the word(s) "tangle" in the title:

Art tangle
caught in a disintegrating tangle of modern concrete
coppery tangle
Get the tangle outta your lifeline?
it was not an animal you’d care to tangle with
strut up and tangle with
tangle
Tangle / Entangle
Tangle back home
tangle it up
tangle of places and spaces that shape(s?) the cities
tangle-entangle
the night is all tangle and smell
the tangle of waste ground
the typical Devon hedges a tangle of bramble and hawthorn
threads tangle
Tinsel in a tangle
willow tangle

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tangle