tangle
noun /ˈtæŋɡl/
/ˈtæŋɡl/
- a twisted mass of threads, hair, etc. that cannot be easily separated
- a tangle of branches
- Her hair was a mass of tangles.
Extra ExamplesTopics Appearancec2- This string's in a tangle.
- a dense tangle of undergrowth
- (figurative) I had to pick my way through the tangle of bodies.
- (figurative) a confused tangle of voices
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- confused
- dense
- thick
- …
- mass
- get in/into
- sort out
- unravel
- …
- in a tangle
- tangle of
- a lack of order; a confused state
- His financial affairs are in a tangle.
Extra Examples- The legal tangle was never really unravelled.
- These arrests have created a diplomatic tangle.
- a complex tangle of loyalties
- He got into a tangle pronouncing her name.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- confused
- dense
- thick
- …
- mass
- get in/into
- sort out
- unravel
- …
- in a tangle
- tangle of
- (informal) a disagreement or fightTopics Opinion and argumentc2
Word OriginMiddle English (in the sense ‘entangle, catch in a tangle’): probably of Scandinavian origin and related to Swedish dialect taggla ‘disarrange’.