entangle

verb

en·​tan·​gle in-ˈtaŋ-gəl 

en-

entangled; entangling; entangles

transitive verb

1

a

: to wrap or twist together : interweave

b

: ensnare

2

a

: to involve in a perplexing or troublesome situation

became entangled in a lawsuit

b

: to make complicated

the story is entangled with legends

entangler

in-ˈtaŋ-g(ə-)lər 

en-

noun

Synonyms of entangle

• knot
• tangle
• intertwine

Examples of entangle in a Sentence

in the process of taking down the Christmas tree, we managed to entangle the string of lights into a hopeless mess of wires

the young runaway gradually became entangled in a web of lies

Recent Examples on the Web

The, just seven seconds later, the two players got entangled again. — Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 30 Sep. 2026

The battles threaten the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a vital global trade route, and are increasingly entangled with regional conflicts involving Iran and Saudi Arabia. — Samy Magdy, Los Angeles Times, 29 Sep. 2026

Conservatives shuddered to think how close the country had come to permanent entangling alliances. — Beverly Gage, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2026

By entangling 30 logical qubits in a single, coherent quantum state, Infleqtion has validated the core architecture of its Sqale hardware and Superstaq software, on its roadmap to deliver 100 logical qubits by 2028. — Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 25 Sep. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French entangler — more at tangle entry 1

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for entangle

• angle
• bangle
• dangle
• jangle
• mangle
• strangle
• tangle
• wrangle
• disentangle
• quadrangle
• triangle
• untangle

Kids Definition

entangle

verb

en·​tan·​gle in-ˈtaŋ-gəl 

1

: to make tangled or confused

2

: to involve in a tangle or a confusing or difficult situation

entanglement

-mənt

noun