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⇱ tangled - WordReference.com Dictionary of English

tangled

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UK:**UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˈtæŋgld/US:USA pronunciation: IPA and respellingUSA pronunciation: IPA/ˈtæŋgəld/ ,USA pronunciation: respelling(tang′gəld)

From the verb tangle: (⇒ conjugate)
tangled is: ⓘClick the infinitive to see all available inflections
v past
v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
tan•gled /ˈtæŋgəld/USA pronunciation   adj. 
    1. mixed up or twisted together in a tangle:tangled thread.
    2. very complicated or involved:tangled negotiations.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
tan•gled  (tang′gəld),USA pronunciation adj. 
  1. snarled, interlaced, or mixed up:tangled thread.
  2. very complicated, intricate, or involved:tangled bureaucratic procedures.
  • tangle1 + -ed2 1580–90

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
tan•gle1 /ˈtæŋgəl/USA pronunciation   v., -gled, -gling, n. 
v. 
  1. 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.
  2. to involve in something that prevents freedom of movement:[~ + object]The bushes were tangled with vines.
  3. to catch and hold in or as if in a net or snare:[~ + object]tangled in a web of lies.
  4. Informal Terms to come into conflict;
    fight or argue:[no object]I don't want to be around when those two tangle.

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

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
tan•gle1  (tang′gəl),USA pronunciation v., -gled, -gling, n. 
v.t. 
  1. to bring together into a mass of confusedly interlaced or intertwisted threads, strands, or other like parts;
    snarl.
  2. to involve in something that hampers, obstructs, or overgrows:The bushes were tangled with vines.
  3. to catch and hold in or as if in a net or snare.

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

n. 
  1. a tangled condition or situation.
  2. a tangled or confused mass or assemblage of something.
  3. a confused jumble:a tangle of contradictory statements.
  4. 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. 
    8. snarl, net, labyrinth, maze.
tan•gle2  (tang′gəl),USA pronunciation n. 
  1. 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 /ˈtæŋɡəl/ n
  1. a confused or complicated mass of hairs, lines, fibres, etc, knotted or coiled together
  2. a complicated problem, condition, or situation
 vb
  1. to become or cause to become twisted together in a confused mass
  2. (intransitive) often followed by with: to come into conflict; contend
  3. (transitive) to involve in matters which hinder or confuse
  4. (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
'tangled' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
Collocations: is [in, involved in, caught up in] a tangled [affair], [brushed, straightened, combed] her tangled hair, tangled up in a delicate [affair, relationship, situation], more...

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

a slice of the sun tangled amid the glossy green leaves
a tangled bank
a tangled tale
cut out a tangled roller
fix a tangled rope.
it's tangled up with me.
landed in a tangled mass of weeds and string against a dead bush
morning will rise from the east tangled and brazen
praise all tangled up in an insult
sodden weight of one of those tangled clots was pulling the skin loose
tangled in
tangled in a bike
Tangled or Twisted?
tangled speech
tangled up/ get tangled up
The cable is tangled. Can you untangle it?
the two of them toppled, tangled together?
The video shows how the protesters tangled with each other in the demo.
to get tangled up <with / trying to understand> something
tree-tangled still
Why are my headphones tangled / Why do my headphones get tangled

Look up "tangled" at Merriam-Webster
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