English Explanatory Dictionary

tangle

English dictionary entry

Meanings

verb
  1. To mix together or intertwine.
  2. To become mixed together or intertwined.
  3. To enter into an argument, conflict, dispute, or fight.
  4. To catch and hold.
noun
  1. A tangled twisted mass.
  2. A complicated or confused state or condition.
  3. An argument, conflict, dispute, or fight.
  4. A region of the projection of a knot such that the knot crosses its perimeter exactly four times.
  5. A paired helical fragment of tau protein found in a nerve cell and associated with Alzheimer's disease.
  6. A form of art which consists of sections filled with repetitive patterns.
noun
  1. Any large type of seaweed, especially a species of Laminaria.
  2. 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.
  3. Any long hanging thing, even a lanky person.
name
  1. A barangay of Mexico, Pampanga, Philippines.

Pronunciation

/ˈtæŋ.ɡəl/ [ˈtæŋ.ɡəl] ~ [ˈtæŋ.ɡl̩] /ˈteɪ̯ŋɡəl/ [ˈtʰeɪ̯ŋɡəl] ~ [ˈtʰeɪ̯ŋɡl̩] /ˈtɛ̃ŋɡəl/ [ˈtʰɛ̃ŋɡəl] ~ [ˈtʰɛ̃ŋɡl̩] en-us-tangle.ogg

Word forms

tangle tangles tangling tangled

Etymology

From Middle English tanglen, probably of North Germanic origin, compare Swedish taggla (“to disorder”), Old Norse þǫngull, þang (“tangle; seaweed”), see Etymology 2 below.

Synonyms

enmesh ensnare ensnarl entangle foul implicate imply involve mat ravel snarl tangle knot dishevel tousle argue conflict dispute fight entrap mess maze argument

Antonyms

untangle unsnarl

Derived words

antitangle atangle betangle detangle entangle intertangle it takes two to tangle nontangling pretangle retangle tanglefoot tanglegram tanglelegs tangleproof tangler tangletalk tanglingly tangly tanglefish tanglesome tangle-wrack tau tangle
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