Tan·gle v. t. [imp. & p. p. Tangled p. pr. & vb. n. Tangling ]
1. To unite or knit together confusedly; to interweave or interlock, as threads, so as to make it difficult to unravel the knot; to entangle; to ravel.
2. To involve; to insnare; to entrap; as, to be tangled in lies. “Tangled in amorous nets.”
When my simple weakness strays,
Tangled in forbidden ways. --Crashaw.
tangled
adj 1: in a confused mass; "pushed back her tangled hair"; "the
tangled ropes" [ant: untangled]
2: highly involved or intricate; "the Byzantine tax structure";
"convoluted legal language"; "convoluted reasoning";
"intricate needlework"; "an intricate labyrinth of refined
phraseology"; "the plot was too involved"; "a knotty
problem"; "got his way by labyrinthine maneuvering"; "Oh,
what a tangled web we weave"- Sir Walter Scott; "tortuous
legal procedures"; "tortuous negotiations lasting for
months" [syn: Byzantine, convoluted, intricate, involved,
knotty, labyrinthine, tortuous]