jangle

play

verb jan·gle \ ˈjaŋ-gəl \

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

A mysterious FBI investigation has embroiled Florida’s capital city, jangling the nerves of Tallahassee’s business and political elite and hindering the aspirations of its mayor, who’s running for governor.

— gray rohrer, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Mysterious FBI probe rattles Florida capital," 28 Aug. 2017
But Frankel’s brand of science fiction is relentlessly interior — less about the mechanics of its futuristic conceit and more about the moment-to-moment state of Ashley’s frayed-edge soul, reflected in Charlie Spears’ nerve-jangling sound design.

— dusty somers, The Seattle Times, "Review: Exploring plastic surgery for the psyche in ‘Much Better’," 21 Aug. 2017
Sonny Burgess, a rockabilly singer whose hollering vocal style and frantic, jangling guitar made him one of the most electrifying stars in the Sun Records galaxy in the 1950s, died on Friday in Little Rock, Ark.

— william grimes, New York Times, "Sonny Burgess, Rockabilly Wild Man, Is Dead at 88," 21 Aug. 2017
Back in the '90s the Philly outfit was making a type of semi-gritty rap-inflected soul-rock with lots of guitars jangling and slashing in front of cracking backbeats.

— john adamian, courant.com, "G. Love And Special Sauce At The Warehouse," 9 Aug. 2017
Nerves still jangle at election time, especially when the outcome is likely to be close, patronage and corruption are pervasive, and rigging and violence have blighted previous ballots.

— The Economist, "Make monitors matter," 20 July 2017
Audiences at the end of Romero's film came out all mixed up, nerves jangling, jittery, shaken up in a different way.

— michael phillips, chicagotribune.com, "George A. Romero appreciation: horror, redefined," 17 July 2017
Finally, the designer herself appeared, her head shrouded in dreads and jangling bells and beads.

— luke leitch, Vogue, "Jahnkoy’s Transcultural Ethnic Athleisure Brings the Noise at Bergdorf Goodman," 13 July 2017
Nerves jangled and voice trembling, the 60-year-old British prime minister stepped before a group of supporters in Maidenhead, her parliamentary constituency located just outside London.

— anna diamond, The Atlantic, "Constructing India and Campaigning in the Banlieues: The Week in Global-Affairs Writing," 9 June 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

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, causerie, chatter, chin music, chin-wag [slang], chitchat, confab, confabulation, gab, gabfest, gossip, chat, jaw, natter [chiefly British], palaver, patter, rap, schmooze, small talk, table talk, talk, tête-à-tête

Related Words

colloquy, conference, discourse, parley, powwow, symposium; debate, dialogue (also dialog), exchange, give-and-take; crosstalk, happy talk; yak (also yack), yammer, yap

JANGLE Defined for English Language Learners

jangle

play

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

play

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.