as in to disrupt
to undo the proper order or arrangement of
his grandfather would always tousle the boy's neatly combed hair
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Recent Examples of tousle
To round out all the looks, model Precious Lee wore her hair tousled into an updo, with just a touch of lip gloss to end the week.
—
India Espy-Jones, Essence, 2 Feb. 2024
The waves weren't precise or uniform in shape, but rather looked as though they'd been styled with a three-barrel iron, then roughed up and tousled for an undone finish.
—Kara Nesvig, Allure, 25 Jan. 2024
For that morning’s scene, her light-auburn hair had been artfully curled and tousled by her longtime hairdresser, Frédéric Souquet.
—Rebecca Mead, The New Yorker, 6 Dec. 2023
Both the royal and the presidential couples appeared to struggle with a strong wind, which tousled Macron’s hair and forced Camilla to hold on tightly to her pink, beret-style hat.
—Sylvie Corbet, Fortune, 20 Sep. 2023
See All Example Sentences for tousle
India Espy-Jones, Essence, 2 Feb. 2024
The waves weren't precise or uniform in shape, but rather looked as though they'd been styled with a three-barrel iron, then roughed up and tousled for an undone finish.
—Kara Nesvig, Allure, 25 Jan. 2024
For that morning’s scene, her light-auburn hair had been artfully curled and tousled by her longtime hairdresser, Frédéric Souquet.
—Rebecca Mead, The New Yorker, 6 Dec. 2023
Both the royal and the presidential couples appeared to struggle with a strong wind, which tousled Macron’s hair and forced Camilla to hold on tightly to her pink, beret-style hat.
—Sylvie Corbet, Fortune, 20 Sep. 2023
See All Example Sentences for tousle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tousle
Verb
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When someone has it, their immune system goes into overdrive, producing more antibodies (or immunoglobulins, hence the name) than necessary that disrupt typical organ function.—
David Oliver,
USA Today,
23 Apr. 2025
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Case in point: Heightened uncertainty about the outlook for the economy has disrupted plans for big-name IPOs like fintech firm Klarna and ticketing platform StubHub over the past month.—
Morgan Chittum,
CNBC,
21 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Then, around 200 million years ago, Pangaea began splitting apart, a geological breakup that formed the Atlantic Ocean, and eastern North America shuffled toward its current position on the globe.—
Alexandra Witze,
JSTOR Daily,
24 Apr. 2025
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The Phillies can shuffle their rotation with the benefit of two upcoming off days.—
Matt Gelb,
New York Times,
23 Apr. 2025
Verb
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This tactic—arresting judges for their courtroom decisions—has disturbing echoes in other countries where judicial independence has been undermined: in Viktor Orbán’s Hungary, in Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Turkey, and in other places where democracy has given way to executive supremacy.—
Andy J. Semotiuk,
Forbes.com,
28 Apr. 2025
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No doubt, climate change threatens to muck it all up, disturbing patterns that have existed for centuries.—
Ray Mark Rinaldi,
Denver Post,
28 Apr. 2025
Verb
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And when the series takes an occasional serious turn, you'll just be confused.—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
2 May 2025
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However, simply getting older doesn’t equate to consistently missing bills or appointments, having a hard time speaking with people, or feeling lost or confused in places that are familiar to you.—
Alisa Hrustic,
SELF,
1 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Tousle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tousle. Accessed 5 May. 2025.
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