jangle

verb jan·gle \ ˈjaŋ-gəl \

Updated on: 6 Apr 2018

Definition of jangle

jangled; jangling play \ˈjaŋ-g(ə-)liŋ\

intransitive verb

1 : to make a harsh or discordant often ringing sound

keys jangling in my pocket

2 : to quarrel verbally

3 : to talk idly

transitive verb

1 a : to cause to sound harshly or inharmoniously

b : to excite to tense irritation

jangled nerves

2 : to utter or sound in a discordant, babbling, or chattering way

—

jangler

play \ˈjaŋ-g(ə-)lər\ noun

See jangle defined for English-language learners

See jangle defined for kids

Examples of jangle in a Sentence

Coins jangled out of the machine.
He jangled his keys loudly outside the door.

Recent Examples of jangle from the Web

By the time the roshi rang the bell, my mind was jangling with emotion, while my legs had fallen completely asleep.

— alex postman, Condé Nast Traveler, "A Mother and Son Search for Zen in Kyoto," 29 Mar. 2018
For most of its runtime, Unsane is a nerve-jangling modern-day Kafka story, as Sawyer and her horrified mother (Amy Irving) crash up against an indifferent bureaucracy designed to keep people like Sawyer locked up.

— scott meslow, GQ, "Unsane Review: A Horror Movie About What It’s Like to Be a Woman," 22 Mar. 2018
Hannover are currently sitting in mid-table and should be safe, although three consecutive defeats have got the nerves jangling in Saxony.

— SI.com, "Borussia Dortmund vs Hannover Preview: Classic Encounter, Key Battle, Team News & More," 17 Mar. 2018
Think of all your beautiful extra years and toss them into the water like jangling bracelets.

— emily carter roiphe, Longreads, "The Hotel of Multiple Realities," 22 Feb. 2018
There is much work to be done in achieving a more perfect union and transforming the jangling political discords into something beautiful.

— jean peters baker, kansascity, "MLK Reflection: Consider the thoughtful, poetic way King delivered his message," 15 Jan. 2018
Waiting at home was father Bryan, who opted against journeying to Utah as the stresses of major competition get his nerves jangling.

— martin rogers, USA TODAY, "Family helps pave John-Henry Krueger's journey to Olympics," 22 Dec. 2017
Guitar jangles mix with emotional builds to breath new life into a song that's all about pushing forward.

— kat bein, Billboard, "The 10 Best Martin Garrix Remixes: Critic's Picks," 15 Nov. 2017
With the ninth of 10 final round qualifiers now here, don’t be surprised to see some nerves jangling if the U.S. is unable to score early.

— martin rogers, USA TODAY, "U.S. national soccer team vs. Panama: Game time, TV info," 6 Oct. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'jangle.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of jangle

Middle English, from Anglo-French jangler, of Germanic origin; akin to Middle Dutch jangelen to grumble

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

jangle

noun

Definition of jangle

1 : a discordant often ringing sound

the jangle of spurs

2 : noisy quarreling

3 : idle talk

Examples of jangle in a Sentence

the hall was abuzz with the usual preconvention jangle

Recent Examples of jangle from the Web

More recently, her 2017 release Pussycat was an album-length rebuke to our current president, with sharp lyrics and a welcoming musical jangle.

— robert ham, Billboard, "Juliana Hatfield on Her Olivia Newton-John Covers Album: 'I Wanted to Escape From All the Horrible Negativity'," 12 Mar. 2018
Not exactly the kind of Best Picture entry that makes the jewels jangle for joy in the audience of the Academy Awards.

— john petkovic, cleveland.com, "Academy Awards 2018: 'Phantom Thread' deserves to win Best Picture Oscar (commentary)," 2 Mar. 2018
The 11 beautifully simple and accomplished jangle-rock songs on the LP sound classic, now, moody, melodic, hypnotic, focused, wintry, summery, personal and universal.

— matt wake | mwake@al.com, AL.com, "How an Alabama band, Wilco's producer made a must-hear album," 22 Jan. 2018
But the very best part of American Girl is the third verse that never appears, leaving the listener out on the balcony as its rambunctious guitar jangles fade to silence, cheating us out of our heroine's happy ending.

— maeve mcdermott, USA TODAY, "Ranked: Remember Tom Petty with his 10 best songs," 3 Oct. 2017
Dale Lawrence, boundary pusher with Gizmos and Boatmen Dale Lawrence supplied the rootsy jangle when two underground styles — punk and indie rock — surfaced in Indiana.

— david lindquist, Indianapolis Star, "New for 2017: Top 25 Indiana musicians of all time," 25 Sep. 2017
For everyone else, filling up a blank space meant going with something attractively innocuous that didn't jangle with the sofa color.

— kim cook, Detroit Free Press, "Home decorators finishing rooms with large art that has an impact," 1 Aug. 2017
The designers put a jangle in the models’ walk with buckled leather straps in neat rows up the sleeves of sweaters, down the legs of trousers and leggings, and across boots.

— colleen barry, The Seattle Times, "Prada takes inspiration from graphic novels for Milan show," 18 June 2017

First Known Use of jangle

14th century

jangle Synonyms

Synonyms

backchat, cackle, chat, chatter, chitchat, confab, confabulation, gab, gabfest, gossip, jaw, palaver, patter, rap, schmooze, small talk, table talk, talk, tête-à-tête;

debate, dialogue (also dialog), exchange, give-and-take;

crosstalk, happy talk;

yak (also yack), yammer, yap;

JANGLE Defined for English Language Learners

jangle

verb

Definition of jangle for English Language Learners

: to make a harsh ringing sound
: to cause (something) to make a harsh ringing sound

JANGLE Defined for Kids

jangle

verb jan·gle \ ˈjaŋ-gəl \

Definition of jangle for Students

jangled; jangling

: to make or cause to make a sound like the harsh ringing of a bell

He jangled his keys.

Headscratcher for jangle

Jangle and jingle are close in spelling, and in meaning, too. To jangle is to make a harsh ringing sound, while to jingle is to make a light ringing sound.