Tangled means twisted together into a knot that is hard to undo. Wires behind a desk, hair after a windy walk.
The word describes the result rather than the act, and it usually comes with in or up: tangled in the netting, tangled up in wire. It is a favourite for describing complications, since a tangled web of companies or a tangled love life is one nobody can easily follow. There is a famous line about deception weaving a tangled web, which has kept the phrase alive for centuries.
1adjectivetangledTwisted together into a knot that is difficult to separate.
“The kite string was hopelessly tangled.”
2adjectivecomplicatedComplicated and confused.
“It is a tangled story with no clear ending.”
Practised in A Man Called Ove, A Song of Ice and Fire
First appears in chapter 3 of A Man Called Ove.
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