TANGLE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does tangle mean? 

• TANGLE (noun)
  The noun TANGLE has 2 senses:

1. a twisted and tangled mass that is highly interwoven

2. something jumbled or confused

  Familiarity information: TANGLE used as a noun is rare.

• TANGLE (verb)
  The verb TANGLE has 4 senses:

1. force into some kind of situation, condition, or course of action

2. tangle or complicate

3. disarrange or rumple; dishevel

4. twist together or entwine into a confusing mass

  Familiarity information: TANGLE used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• TANGLE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A twisted and tangled mass that is highly interwoven

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Context example:

they carved their way through the tangle of vines

Hypernyms ("tangle" is a kind of...):

natural object (an object occurring naturally; not made by man)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "tangle"):

hair ball; hairball; trichobezoar (a compact mass of hair that forms in the alimentary canal (especially in the stomach of animals as a result of licking fur))

shag (a matted tangle of hair or fiber)

Derivation:

tangle (twist together or entwine into a confusing mass)

tangle (disarrange or rumple; dishevel)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Something jumbled or confused

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

maze; snarl; tangle

Context example:

a tangle of government regulations

Hypernyms ("tangle" is a kind of...):

perplexity (trouble or confusion resulting from complexity)

Derivation:

tangle (tangle or complicate)

• TANGLE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they tangle    ... he / she / it tangles   
Past simple: tangled   
Past participle: tangled   
-ing form: tangling   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Force into some kind of situation, condition, or course of action

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Synonyms:

drag; drag in; embroil; sweep; sweep up; tangle

Context example:

don't drag me into this business

Hypernyms (to "tangle" is one way to...):

involve (engage as a participant)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Somebody ----s somebody PP

Sense 2

Meaning:

Tangle or complicate

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

knot; ravel; tangle

Context example:

a ravelled story

Hypernyms (to "tangle" is one way to...):

enlace; entwine; interlace; intertwine; lace; twine (spin, wind, or twist together)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s something PP

Derivation:

tangle (something jumbled or confused)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Disarrange or rumple; dishevel

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

dishevel; tangle; tousle

Context example:

The strong wind tousled my hair

Hypernyms (to "tangle" is one way to...):

disarrange (destroy the arrangement or order of)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

tangle (a twisted and tangled mass that is highly interwoven)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Twist together or entwine into a confusing mass

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

entangle; mat; snarl; tangle

Context example:

The child entangled the cord

Hypernyms (to "tangle" is one way to...):

distort; twine; twist (form into a spiral shape)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "tangle"):

felt (mat together and make felt-like)

enmesh; ensnarl; mesh (entangle or catch in (or as if in) a mesh)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Sentence example:

They tangle their hair

Derivation:

tangle (a twisted and tangled mass that is highly interwoven)

 Context examples 

The tangles disrupt processes in cells, causing them to die.

(Human Cells Model Alzheimer’s Disease, NIH)

When DNA becomes tangled inside of cells, organisms use a protein called topoisomerase 2 (TOP2) to untangle it.

(DNA damage caused by cancer treatment reversed by ZATT protein, National Institutes of Health)

“I think, Watson, we cannot do better. Do not allow yourself to indulge in false hopes, Mr. Phelps. The affair is a very tangled one.”

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

There was the end of this tangled clue.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

But the amount of tau tangles, another hallmark of the disease, and the one more correlated with how thinking and memory are affected, was relatively low.

(Unique case of disease resistance reveals possible Alzheimer’s treatment, National Institutes of Health)

Once, during a brief halt, when he got tangled in the traces and delayed the start, both Dave and Sol-leks flew at him and administered a sound trouncing.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

Makes a pretty tangle when he gets going.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

Lower rates of glycolysis and higher brain glucose levels correlated to more severe plaques and tangles found in the brains of people with the disease.

(Higher brain glucose levels may mean more severe Alzheimer’s, National Institutes of Health)

For their study, the researchers looked at mice with three traits of Alzheimer’s: memory impairment, amyloid plaques, and neurofibrillary tangles.

(Study: Olive Oil Protects Brain From Alzheimer’s, VOA News)

There was a crash of broken boughs as it dived wildly down into the tangle of green.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)