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Meaning of TANGLE

Pronunciation:  'tanggul

WordNet Dictionary
 
 Definition: 
  1. [n]  something jumbled or confused; "a tangle of government regulations"
  2. [n]  a twisted and tangled mass that is highly interwoven; "they carved their way through the tangle of vines"
  3. [v]  twist together or entwine into a confusing mass; "The child entangled the cord"
  4. [v]  disarrange or rumple; dishevel; "The strong wind tousled my hair"
  5. [v]  tangle or complicate; "a ravelled story"
  6. [v]  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"
 
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 Synonyms: dishevel, drag, drag in, embroil, entangle, knot, mat, maze, ravel, snarl, snarl, sweep, sweep up, tousle
 
 Antonyms: disentangle, straighten out, unknot, unpick, unravel, unscramble, unsnarl, untangle
 
 See Also: disarrange, distort, enlace, enmesh, ensnarl, entwine, felt, hair ball, hairball, interlace, intertwine, involve, lace, mesh, natural object, perplexity, shag, trichobezoar, twine, twist

 

 

Webster's 1913 Dictionary
 
 Definition: 
  1. \Tan"gle\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Tangled}; p. pr. & vb. n.
    {Tangling}.] [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.
    
  2. \Tan"gle\, v. i.
    To be entangled or united confusedly; to get in a tangle.
    
  3. \Tan"gle\, n.
    1. [Cf. Icel. [thorn]["o]ngull. 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}, 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.
    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.
    {Blue tangle}. (Bot.)See {Dangleberry}.
    {Tangle picker} (Zo["o]l.), the turnstone. [Prov. Eng.]
    
 

 

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