tangle
1 Americanverb (used with object)
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to bring together into a mass of confusedly interlaced or intertwisted threads, strands, or other like parts; snarl.
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to involve in something that hampers, obstructs, or overgrows.
The bushes were tangled with vines.
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to catch and hold in or as if in a net or snare.
verb (used without object)
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to be or become tangled.
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Informal. to come into conflict; fight or argue.
I don't want to tangle with him over the new ruling.
noun
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a tangled condition or situation.
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a tangled or confused mass or assemblage of something.
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a confused jumble.
a tangle of contradictory statements.
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Informal. a conflict; disagreement.
He got into a tangle with the governor.
noun
noun
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a confused or complicated mass of hairs, lines, fibres, etc, knotted or coiled together
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a complicated problem, condition, or situation
verb
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to become or cause to become twisted together in a confused mass
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to come into conflict; contend
to tangle with the police
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(tr) to involve in matters which hinder or confuse
to tangle someone in a shady deal
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(tr) to ensnare or trap, as in a net
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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tanglesimple
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tanglessimple
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have tangledperfect
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has tangledperfect
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am tanglingprogressive
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are tanglingprogressive
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is tanglingprogressive
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have been tanglingperfect progressive
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has been tanglingperfect progressive
Past
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tangledsimple
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had tangledperfect
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was tanglingprogressive
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were tanglingprogressive
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had been tanglingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of tangle1
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English tangilen, tagilen “to entangle,” probably from a Scandinavian language; compare Swedish (dialect) taggla “to disarrange”
Origin of tangle2
First recorded in 1530–40; from a Scandinavian language; compare Old Norse thǫngull “strand of tangle,” Norwegian tang
Explanation
A tangle is a jumble. You might have a tangle of cords behind your computer or a tangle of complications related to your taxes. Whatever it is, once something is in a tangle, it's difficult to sort out. The word tangle likely originated from a Scandinavian source — taggla, in a Swedish dialect, means “disarrange.” Tangle also can be used as a verb: you may tangle your hair as a fashion statement, but then it hurts to comb it out. As a noun, tangle can refer to an argument or a fight between two people: if you're really feisty, people might be warned away from getting into a tangle with you.
Vocabulary lists containing tangle
"Of Mice and Men"
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Excerpt from "Flipped"
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Cormac McCarthy's "The Road"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
He would be far from the only US president to tangle with the Israeli PM.
From BBC ● Jun. 3, 2026
Learning from troops in Ukraine, Israeli forces have begun covering their positions with netting to entrap and tangle the tiny drones.
From BBC ● May 28, 2026
Some of these effects are frieze-like; others suggest a play of stark silhouettes or a calculated tangle of angular limbs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 13, 2026
Maybe it’s a drizzle of special vinegar, a pat of cultured butter softening into gloss or a tangle of pickled vegetables with just enough bite.
From Salon ● Apr. 26, 2026
His nose had been battered to his cheekbones; his heavy forehead was nearly lost in a fierce tangle of eyebrows; and his neck seemed as thick as Taran’s waist.
From "The Black Cauldron" by Lloyd Alexander
But consent decrees are legally and politically complicated, and the treatment of migrant children further tangles the situation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
Drugmakers are also developing medications that target tau tangles in the brain so patients may have more options in the future.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026
To administer genetic medicines against the tau protein tangles that are Alzheimer’s’ other main pathology, doctors must inject them directly into the cerebrospinal fluid.
From Barron's ● Jun. 3, 2026
After Scotty’s death, Ledger became a staple in Diem’s life, and the budding romance with Kenna tangles everyone into a gnarled knot of low-stakes deception and drama.
From Salon ● Mar. 19, 2026
Arya was still going on, brushing out Nymeria's tangles and chattering about things she'd seen on the trek south.
From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin
As a backhoe cleared broken pieces of heavy walls, the siblings picked tirelessly through the mountain of tangled rubble.
From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026
The siblings tangled for years in litigation over control of their parents’ house, court documents show.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026
The president tangled with many big companies and wound up earning at least $86.5 million in legal settlements that were detailed in the disclosure.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
The Polygamist, a 22-episode Zulu-language series, is about the tangled love life of wealthy Johannesburg businessman Jonasi Gomora.
From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026
She made her way past the sleepy cows and shed her cloak at the base of the ladder so she might scurry up without getting tangled.
From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood
The moves also signaled to the U.S. that it was tangling not just with Denmark—a country of roughly six million people—but allies from across NATO’s 32 members.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 15, 2026
It’s the risk of tangling their expectations and desires, and the fear that their hunger to stay together might get in the way of their separate futures.
From Salon ● May 21, 2025
Still, that hasn’t stopped their subreddit and user base—which is smaller than either r/PublicFreakout’s or r/FreeLuigi’s—from tangling with the new reality.
From Slate ● Mar. 13, 2025
Crockett would know: He’s been tangling with the industry in some form or fashion since one insider saw him as a would-be pop star more than a decade ago.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 13, 2025
A dozen lines of thought began and continued in my brain without ending; crossing, tangling, like threads on some meaningless warp.
From "Nectar in a Sieve" by Kamala Markandaya
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.