tangle Meaning, Definition & Usage

noun a twisted and tangled mass that is highly interwoven
- they carved their way through the tangle of vines
noun something jumbled or confused
maze; snarl.
- a tangle of government regulations
verb force into some kind of situation, condition, or course of action
embroil; sweep; drag; drag in; sweep up.
- They were swept up by the events
- don't drag me into this business
verb tangle or complicate
ravel; knot.
- a ravelled story
verb disarrange or rumple; dishevel
tousle; dishevel.
- The strong wind tousled my hair
verb twist together or entwine into a confusing mass
entangle; snarl; mat.
- The child entangled the cord

A frequentative fr. tang seaweed; hence, to twist like seaweed. See Tang seaweed, and cf. Tangle, n.

imperfect & past participle Tangled ; present participle & verbal noun Tangling

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.
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.

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.
From Tangle, v. 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.
pl. 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.