entangle

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Middle English entanglen (“to involve [someone] in difficulty”, “to embarrass”). Equivalent to en- +‎ tangle.

Pronunciation
  • (UK) IPA(key): /ɪnˈtaŋ.ɡəl/,[1][2][3] IPA(key): /ɛnˈtaŋ.ɡəl/, [ɛnˈtaŋ.ɡl̩]
    • Audio (Southern England)(file)
  • (General American) IPA(key): /ɪnˈtæŋ.ɡəl/,[4][1][5][6][2][3] /ɛnˈtaŋ.ɡəl/[6]

Verb

entangle (third-person singular simple present entangles, present participle entangling, simple past and past participle entangled)

  1. (transitive) To tangle up; to twist or interweave in such a manner as not to be easily separated.
    The dolphins became entangled in a fishing net.
  2. (transitive) To involve in such complications as to render extrication difficult.
  3. (transitive, figuratively) To ensnare.
    Synonyms: perplex, bewilder, puzzle
    • 1842, Alfred Tennyson, “Madeleine”, in Poems. […], volume I, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, stanza 3, page 19:
      But when I turn away, / Thou, willing me to stay, / Wooest not, nor vainly wranglest; / But, looking fixedly the while, / All my bounding heart entanglest, / In a golden-netted smile; […]
  4. (transitive) To involve in difficulties or embarrassments; to embarrass, puzzle, or distract by adverse or perplexing circumstances, interests, demands, etc.; to hamper; to bewilder.

Antonyms

Translations

References
  1. “entangle” in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Longman.
  2. “entangle” (US) / “entangle” (UK) in Macmillan English Dictionary.
  3. “entangle”, in Oxford Learner's Dictionaries
  4. “entangle”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
  5. “entangle”, in Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, 1999–present.
  6. “entangle”, in Collins English Dictionary.

Anagrams
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