Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Tangle
Tan′gle
,Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Tangled
; p. pr. & vb. n.
Tangling
.] 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;
“Tangled in amorous nets.” as, to be
. tangled
in liesMilton.
When my simple weakness strays,
Tangled
in forbidden ways. Crashaw.
Tan′gle
,Verb.
I.
To be entangled or united confusedly; to get in a tangle.
Tan′gle
,Noun.
1.
[Cf. Icel.
þöngull
. See Tang
seaweed.] (Bot.)
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.
[From ]
Tangle
, Verb.
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.
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.
Webster 1828 Edition
Tangle
TAN'GLE
, v.t.1.
To implicate; to unite or knit together confusedly; to interweave or interlock, as threads, so as to make it difficult to ravel the knot.2.
To ensnare; to entrap; as, to be tangled in the folds of dire necessity. Tangled in amorous nets.
3.
To embroil; to embarrass. When my simple weakness strays,
Tangled in forbidden ways.
[Entangle, the compound, is the more elegant word.]
TAN'GLE
,Verb.
I.
TAN'GLE
,Noun.
1.
A kind of sea weed.Definition 2024
tangle
tangle
English
Verb
tangle (third-person singular simple present tangles, present participle tangling, simple past and past participle tangled)
- (intransitive) to become mixed together or intertwined
- Her hair was tangled from a day in the wind.
- (intransitive) to be forced into some kind of situation
- (intransitive) to enter into an argument, conflict, dispute, or fight
- Don't tangle with someone three times your size.
- He tangled with the law.
- (transitive) to mix together or intertwine
- (transitive) to catch and hold
- Milton
- Tangled in amorous nets.
- Crashaw
- When my simple weakness strays, / Tangled in forbidden ways.
- Milton
Synonyms
- (to become mixed together or intertwined): dishevel, tousle
- (to be forced into some kind of situation): drag, drag in, embroil, sweep, sweep up
- (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
Translations
to become mixed together or intertwined
to be forced into some kind of situation
to enter into an argument, conflict, dispute, or fight
to mix together or intertwine
to catch and hold
Noun
tangle (plural tangles)
- A tangled twisted mass.
- A complicated or confused state or condition.
- 2013 August 3, “Boundary problems”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8847:
- Economics is a messy discipline: too fluid to be a science, too rigorous to be an art. Perhaps it is fitting that economists’ most-used metric, gross domestic product (GDP), is a tangle too. GDP measures the total value of output in an economic territory. Its apparent simplicity explains why it is scrutinised down to tenths of a percentage point every month.
- I tried to sort through this tangle and got nowhere.
-
- 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
Translations
tangled twisted mass
complicated or confused state or condition
argument, conflict, dispute, or fight
Etymology 2
Of Scandinavian origin; compare Norwegian tongul, Faroese tongul, Icelandic þöngull.
Noun
tangle (plural tangles)
- Any large type of seaweed, especially a species of Laminaria.
- 1849, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, In Memoriam, 10:
- Than if with thee the roaring wells / Should gulf him fathom-deep in brine; / And hands so often clasped in mine, / Should toss with tangle and with shells.
- 1849, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, In Memoriam, 10:
- (in the plural) 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.