tangle
tangle Lexical Profile
tangle Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A confused mass of something twisted together, such as hair, thread, branches, or wires.
"She spent ten minutes brushing the stubborn tangles out of her hair after swimming."
A confused, complicated, or disorderly state or situation.
"The legal dispute quickly turned into a baffling tangle of conflicting claims and counterclaims."
Scottish Any of various large, coarse brown seaweeds or kelps, especially of the genus Laminaria, growing along rocky coasts.
"At low tide, thick beds of brown tangle were exposed along the rocky shoreline."
• verb
To twist together into a confused, knotted, or intertwined mass, or to cause something to become twisted in this way.
"The strong autumn wind tangled the thin strings of the kite in the tree branches."
To come into conflict, argument, or competition with someone or something (usually followed by 'with').
"The investigative journalist was never afraid to tangle with powerful corporate executives."
To make a situation, plan, or system complicated, confused, or difficult to resolve.
"Last-minute amendments further tangled the already complex tax legislation."
• Rhymes for tangle
Word Origin & Etymology
Originating in the mid-14th century from Middle English 'tanglen' or 'taglen', likely borrowed from a Scandinavian source related to Old Norse 'þongull' (seaweed) or Swedish dialectal 'taggla' (to disorder).