tangle

== English == === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈtæŋ.ɡl̩/ Rhymes: -æŋɡəl === Etymology 1 === From Middle English tanglen, probably of North Germanic origin, compare Swedish taggla (“to disorder”), Old Norse þǫngull, þang (“tangle; seaweed”), see Etymology 2 below. ==== Verb ==== tangle (third-person singular simple present tangles, present participle tangling, simple past and past participle tangled) (transitive) To mix together or intertwine. Synonyms: entangle, knot, mat, snarl; see also Thesaurus:tangle (intransitive) To become mixed together or intertwined. Synonyms: dishevel, tousle Antonyms: untangle, unsnarl (intransitive, figurative) To enter into an argument, conflict, dispute, or fight. Synonyms: argue, conflict, dispute, fight (transitive) To catch and hold. Synonyms: ensnare, entrap ===== Derived terms ===== betangle entangle it takes two to tangle tanglelegs ===== Translations ===== ==== Noun ==== tangle (plural tangles) A tangled twisted mass. A complicated or confused state or condition. An argument, conflict, dispute, or fight. (mathematics) A region of the projection of a knot such that the knot crosses its perimeter exactly four times. (medicine) A paired helical fragment of tau protein found in a nerve cell and associated with Alzheimer's disease. A form of art which consists of sections filled with repetitive patterns. ===== Synonyms ===== (tangled twisted mass): knot, mess, snarl (complicated or confused state or condition): maze, snarl (argument, conflict, dispute, or fight): argument, conflict, dispute, fight ===== Derived terms ===== tangle-wrack tanglefish (Syngnathus acus) tanglesome tau tangle ===== Translations ===== === Etymology 2 === Of North Germanic origin, such as Danish tang or Swedish tång, from Old Norse þongull, þang. See also Norwegian tongul, Faroese tongul, Icelandic þöngull. ==== Noun ==== tangle (countable and uncountable, plural tangles) Any large type of seaweed, especially a species of Laminaria. (in the plural) 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. (Scotland) Any long hanging thing, even a lanky person. ===== Hyponyms ===== kombu ===== Translations ===== === Further reading === “tangle”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC. William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “tangle”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC. “tangle”, in OneLook Dictionary Search. === Anagrams === gelant, langet, netlag