entangle

[ en-tang-guhl ]

verb (used with object)

, en·tan·gled, en·tan·gling.

1. to make tangled; ensnarl; intertwine.
2. to involve in or as in a tangle; ensnare; enmesh:

   to be entangled by intrigue.

3. to involve in difficulties.
4. to confuse or perplex.

   Synonyms: bewilder

entangle

/ ɪnˈtæŋɡəl /

verb

1. to catch or involve in or as if in a tangle; ensnare or enmesh
2. to make tangled or twisted; snarl
3. to make complicated; confuse
4. to involve in difficulties; entrap

Derived Forms

• enˈtangler, noun

Other Words From

• en·tangle·a·ble adjective
• en·tangled·ly adverb
• en·tangled·ness noun
• en·tangler noun
• en·tangling·ly adverb
• inter·en·tangle verb (used with object) interentangled interentangling
• unen·tangle·a·ble adjective
• unen·tangled adjective
• unen·tangling adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of entangle¹

First recorded in 1530–40; en- ¹ + tangle ¹

Synonym Study

See involve.

Example Sentences

Left in the wild, their mangled remains entangle birds and choke sea turtles that mistake them for edible jellyfish.

From Salon

Chanaaz Mangroe, who performed as Channii Monroe, says in her suit that in 2015, Mr. Gesteelde-Diamant used promises to promote her career to entangle her in an abusive relationship in which he repeatedly forced her to have sex, strangled her and once made a video recording of an intimate encounter and threatened to show it to others.

From New York Times

Silicon vacancy center-based network nodes can catch, store and entangle bits of quantum information while correcting for signal loss.

From Science Daily

So I began to entangle my Waking Life within the Dreaming Life.

From Los Angeles Times

Will he respond to Iran with a forceful counterattack and potentially entangle Israel and other countries in a broader war?

From New York Times

Related Words

• complicate
• confuse
• embarrass
• embroil
• enmesh
• ensnare
• entrap
• implicate
• intertwine
• interweave
• perplex
• snare
• snarl
• tangle
• unsettle