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
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Recent Examples of tangled
The Bon Appétit Staff, Bon Appetit Magazine, 3 Apr. 2026
Congress still fighting over 2026 spending The president’s budget arrives as the House and Senate remain tangled over current-year spending and stalemated over DHS funding, with Democrats demanding changes to Trump’s immigration enforcement regime that Republicans are unwilling to accept.
—Lisa Mascaro, Chicago Tribune, 3 Apr. 2026
Literary Hub, 14 Apr. 2026
How To Prevent Tangling To keep your sheets from becoming twisted and tangled, first separate them.
—Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 13 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for tangled
Adjective
Then loaded with a tangled heap of arugula and radicchio tossed in my colleague Emma Laperruque’s bracing Three-Minute Red Wine Vinaigrette?
—The Bon Appétit Staff, Bon Appetit Magazine, 3 Apr. 2026
Congress still fighting over 2026 spending The president’s budget arrives as the House and Senate remain tangled over current-year spending and stalemated over DHS funding, with Democrats demanding changes to Trump’s immigration enforcement regime that Republicans are unwilling to accept.
—Lisa Mascaro, Chicago Tribune, 3 Apr. 2026
Verb
With my latest book, Aqua, the process was similarly tangled.
—Literary Hub, 14 Apr. 2026
How To Prevent Tangling To keep your sheets from becoming twisted and tangled, first separate them.
—Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 13 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for tangled
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tangled
Adjective
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The figures had cracked in many places and some of the statues revealed their complicated armature.—
Douglas Stuart,
New Yorker,
12 Apr. 2026
-
Legacy therapeutic approaches are sometimes complicated, costly, slow or restricted in geography.—
Lucy Jones
April 11,
Miami Herald,
11 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Their conditions were not immediately known, but firefighters said no one was trapped inside the vehicle during the impact.—
Dean Fioresi,
CBS News,
15 Apr. 2026
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Morales was trapped about 22 feet underground during the ordeal and was saved after first responders drilled a parallel shaft and horizonal tunnel through rock to access her location, KMID/KPEJ reported.—
Greg Norman-Diamond , Greg Wehner,
FOXNews.com,
14 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Josh Lowe knotted the score at 8 with a seventh-inning sacrifice fly, and Trout's two-run drive in the eighth off Camilo Doval put the Angels ahead 10-8 with his 31st multi-homer game.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
13 Apr. 2026
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Josh Lowe knotted the score at 8 with a seventh-inning sacrifice fly, and Trout’s two-run drive in the eighth off Camilo Doval put the Angels ahead 10-8 with his 31st multi-homer game.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
13 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Experts gain valuable insights into how animal brains acquire new skills and master intricate sounds by studying vocal learning.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
17 Apr. 2026
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The best and most intricate locks usually cost around $60 and can exceed $100.—
BestReviews,
Chicago Tribune,
17 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The Wireless festival has been enmeshed in controversy ever since West was announced as its headliner, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer voicing disapproval within days.—
Jem Aswad,
Variety,
7 Apr. 2026
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Much of the country is now enmeshed in a brutal civil war, and security concerns meant voting in the recent election could be held in only 263 of the country’s 330 townships.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
30 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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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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The show also distinguished itself in its willingness to tackle complex social and existential realities.—
Jean Garnett,
New Yorker,
18 Apr. 2026
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Reporting on misdeeds of an intimate nature can be especially difficult and complex.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tangled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tangled. Accessed 21 Apr. 2026.
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