TANGLE

tangle, snarl, maze

(noun) something jumbled or confused; “a tangle of government regulations”

tangle

(noun) a twisted and tangled mass that is highly interwoven; “they carved their way through the tangle of vines”

entangle, tangle, mat, snarl

(verb) twist together or entwine into a confusing mass; “The child entangled the cord”

tousle, dishevel, tangle

(verb) disarrange or rumple; dishevel; “The strong wind tousled my hair”

ravel, tangle, knot

(verb) tangle or complicate; “a ravelled story”

embroil, tangle, sweep, sweep up, drag, drag in

(verb) 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”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology 1

Verb

tangle (third-person singular simple present tangles, present participle tangling, simple past and past participle tangled)

(intransitive) to become mixed together or intertwined

(intransitive) to enter into an argument, conflict, dispute, or fight

(transitive) to mix together or intertwine

(transitive) to catch and hold; to ensnare.

Synonyms

• (to become mixed together or intertwined): dishevel, tousle

• (to enter into an argument, conflict, dispute, or fight): argue, conflict, dispute, fight

• (to mix together or intertwine): entangle, knot, mat, snarl

• (to catch and hold): entrap

Antonyms

• (to mix together or intertwine): untangle, unsnarl

Noun

tangle (plural tangles)

A tangled twisted mass.

A complicated or confused state or condition.

An argument, conflict, dispute, or fight.

(mathematics) A region of the projection of a knot such that the knot crosses its perimeter exactly four times.

A form of art which consists of sections filled with repetitive patterns.

Synonyms

• (tangled twisted mass): knot, mess, snarl

• (complicated or confused state or condition): maze, snarl

• (argument, conflict, dispute, or fight): argument, conflict, dispute, fight

Etymology 2

Noun

tangle (countable and uncountable, plural tangles)

Any large type of seaweed, especially a species of Laminaria.

(in the plural) 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.

(Scotland) Any long hanging thing, even a lanky person.

Hyponyms

• kombu

Anagrams

• gelant, langet, netlag

Source: Wiktionary


Tan"gle, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Tangled; p. pr. & vb. n. Tangling.] Etym: [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.

Tan"gle, v. i.

Definition: To be entangled or united confusedly; to get in a tangle.

Tan"gle, n.

1. Etym: [Cf. Icel. þöngull. See Tang seaweed.] (Bot.)

Definition: 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. Etym: [From Tangle, v.]

Definition: 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.

Definition: An instrument consisting essentiallly 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 (Zoöl.), the turnstone. [Prov. Eng.]

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

2 May 2024

BEQUEATH

(verb) leave or give by will after one’s death; “My aunt bequeathed me all her jewelry”; “My grandfather left me his entire estate”


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Coffee Trivia

The first coffee-house in Mecca dates back to the 1510s. The beverage was in Turkey by the 1530s. It appeared in Europe circa 1515-1519 and was introduced to England by 1650. By 1675 the country had more than 3,000 coffee houses, and coffee had replaced beer as a breakfast drink.

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