tangle
Tangle is defined as to fight, trap, or make a knot.
(verb)- An example of tangle is for two young boys to fight on the playground.
- An example of tangle is to catch strands of hair in a brush.
The definition of a tangle is a confusion, trapping or a mess.
(noun)An example of a tangle is a person stuck in a spider web.
See tangle in Webster's New World College Dictionary
transitive verb tangled, tangling
- to hinder, obstruct, or confuse by or as by covering, circling, entwining, etc.
- to catch in or as in a net or snare; trap
- to make a knot or snarl of; intertwist
Origin: ME tanglen, prob. nasalized var. of taglen, to entangle, akin to Swed dial. taggla, to disarrange
intransitive verb
- to become tangled
- Informal to fight, quarrel, or argue
noun
- an intertwisted, confused mass of things, as string, branches, etc.; snarl
- a jumbled, confused condition
- a perplexed state
- Informal a fight, quarrel, or argument
Related Forms:
- tangler noun
See tangle in American Heritage Dictionary 4
verb tan·gled, tan·gling, tan·gles verb, transitive
- To mix together or intertwine in a confused mass; snarl.
- To involve in hampering or awkward complications; entangle.
- To catch and hold in or as if in a net; entrap. See Synonyms at catch.
- To be or become entangled.
- Informal To enter into argument, dispute, or conflict: tangled with the law.
- A confused, intertwined mass.
- A jumbled or confused state or condition.
- A state of bewilderment.
- Informal An argument or altercation.
Origin:
Origin: Middle English tangilen, to involve in an embarrassing situation
Origin: , variant of tagilen
Origin: , probably of Scandinavian origin
Origin: ; akin to Swedish dialectal taggla, to entangle
.Related Forms:
- tanˈgly adjective
noun
Origin:
Origin: Of Scandinavian origin
Origin: ; akin to Old Norse thöngull, seaweed
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