as in complicated
having many parts or aspects that are usually interrelated
it helps to have a lawyer to sort out the tangled contracts that home buyers typically have to contend with
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in trapped
to catch or hold as if in a net
was at last tangled in the web of lies that he had told to everyone
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in knotted
to twist together into a usually confused mass
that darn cat tangled the yarn I was trying to knit with
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of tangled
Leanne Potts, Better Homes & Gardens, 10 Mar. 2026
This is Florida’s largest urban park, a sprawling preserve of tangled mangroves and tidal estuaries set against Biscayne Bay.
—Taylor Haught, Miami Herald, 4 Mar. 2026
Haley Sawyer, Oc Register, 21 Mar. 2026
And despite lacking drawstrings that might get tangled in the wash, its generously-sized hood covers and stays up on my daughter’s big head (99th percentile, thank you very much).
—The Editors, Outside, 18 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for tangled
Adjective
Rejuvenation Pruning If your old wood-blooming honeysuckle has become a tangled, scant-flowering mess, do a rejuvenation pruning.
—Leanne Potts, Better Homes & Gardens, 10 Mar. 2026
This is Florida’s largest urban park, a sprawling preserve of tangled mangroves and tidal estuaries set against Biscayne Bay.
—Taylor Haught, Miami Herald, 4 Mar. 2026
Verb
Dunn got tangled up with defenders, and Clemson got possession of the ball with four seconds on the clock.
—Haley Sawyer, Oc Register, 21 Mar. 2026
And despite lacking drawstrings that might get tangled in the wash, its generously-sized hood covers and stays up on my daughter’s big head (99th percentile, thank you very much).
—The Editors, Outside, 18 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for tangled
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tangled
Adjective
-
The complicated and delicate efforts to rescue the 12-15 meter (39-49 feet) whale off a sandbank at Timmendorfer Strand beach earlier this week captivated Germans — with media sending news alerts of updates on its progress and streaming live video from the scene.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
28 Mar. 2026
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Readers send Miss Manners not only their table and party questions, but those involving the more complicated aspects of life - romance, work, family relationships, child-rearing, death - as well as philosophical and moral dilemmas.—
Judith Martin,
Dallas Morning News,
28 Mar. 2026
Verb
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If trapped by moving water, seek the highest possible point and contact emergency services by calling 911.—
KANSAS CITY STAR WEATHER BOT,
Kansas City Star,
1 Apr. 2026
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Wenrick did not answer questions about whether or not Valencia was trapped inside.—
Nicole Comstock,
CBS News,
31 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Lisa Rae Moss — serving a life sentence for her involvement in the 1990 murder of her husband, Mike Moss — sat in the witness box in a courtroom in Seminole, Oklahoma, on a frigid January morning in 2025, her hands knotted in her lap.—
Pamela Colloff,
ProPublica,
24 Mar. 2026
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Cincinnati knotted the score again in the 52nd minute on Ayoub Jabbari's first career goal in his 10th appearance.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
22 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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There are 70 structures to explore, and what sets it apart from sites such as Angkor Wat is the construction techniques – the Cham people used red bricks decorated with intricate carvings, and historians have failed to work out how these bricks were fired.—
Tamara Hinson,
Condé Nast Traveler,
27 Mar. 2026
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Because of their intricate root systems, mangroves are uniquely resilient to the waves and wind from storms.—
Ryan Kellman,
NPR,
27 Mar. 2026
Verb
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He got promoted three years later, to head coach, when the head coach who hired him got enmeshed in a scandal.—
Scott Fowler,
Charlotte Observer,
25 Mar. 2026
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But without early shatterless mutations, our species would never have enmeshed its fate so deeply with grasses.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
25 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
These are common but complicate long-term planning for federal agencies.—
Hollie Silverman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Sep. 2025
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Despite differing views on a variety of security issues, the group, like Gilpatric’s, reached a clear consensus: nuclear proliferation by any additional country would diminish U.S. power, complicate strategic planning, and increase the likelihood of nuclear use, accidents, and disasters.—
MARIANO-FLORENTINO CUÉLLAR,
Foreign Affairs,
25 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Research also suggests that state and federal gas taxes are just one component of a complex pricing scheme that includes the global price of oil and other factors, the group said.—
Matthew Daly,
Chicago Tribune,
28 Mar. 2026
-
The scandal is now expanding into an international investigation, placing Miami at the center of a complex web of shell companies, offshore transfers and opaque financial flows.—
Antonio María Delgado,
Miami Herald,
27 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tangled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tangled. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.
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