tangled

adjective

tan·​gled ˈtaŋ-gəld 

1

: existing in or giving the appearance of a state of utter disorder

2

: very involved : exceedingly complex

Synonyms

• complicated
• intricate
• complicate
• complex

Examples of tangled in a Sentence

it helps to have a lawyer to sort out the tangled contracts that home buyers typically have to contend with

Recent Examples on the Web

Since 2019, OpenAI has methodically shifted power away from its nonprofit parent organization into a tangled web of business deals and investor relationships. —Orson Aguilar, Mercury News, 10 July 2025

Ecosystems persist below the concrete and above it, creating a tangled, messy, vibrant example of cohabitation. —Krista Langlois, Smithsonian Magazine, 7 July 2025

Ariana DeBose Oscar winner Ariana DeBose returned to co-host the Tony Awards for the third time in a row, wearing a minimalist white silk slip dress and a tangled stack of layered pearl necklaces. —Oscar Holland, CNN Money, 9 June 2025

The reigning Wells Fargo Champion’s story is inseparable from the tangled legacy of Northern Ireland. —Shane Connuck, Charlotte Observer, 13 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1596, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for tangled

• angled
• dangled
• fangled
• jangled
• mangled
• spangled
• strangled
• wrangled
• disentangled
• entangled
• newfangled
• untangled