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
-
Light pollution disrupts animal behavior, interrupts plant cycles, and affects human health.—
Valerie Stimac,
Forbes.com,
16 May 2025
-
Indeed, on Thursday in Basel, a small group of protesters blew whistles and waved flags to disrupt one of Raphael’s public rehearsals.—
Alex Marshall,
New York Times,
16 May 2025
Verb
-
Bemused tourists attempt to shuffle through the acrid red and blue flare smoke.—
Tim Spiers,
New York Times,
18 May 2025
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All of those departures except for Stark came before the draft, meaning Paton was left to shuffle the chairs and adjust on the fly to ensure the Broncos were prepared.—
Parker Gabriel,
Denver Post,
16 May 2025
Verb
-
These days, there’s no shortage of packable, lightweight sleeping pads to make sure no peas (or pebbles) ever disturb your slumber on your next backpacking trip.—
Scott Gilbertson,
Wired News,
11 May 2025
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Both of these albums were born at a time when outside factors disturbed their peace.—
Alex Gonzalez,
MSNBC Newsweek,
9 May 2025
Verb
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All of the footage from The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon makes the show-within-a-show look silly, which the series confuses with humorousness.—
Daniel Fienberg,
HollywoodReporter,
12 May 2025
-
While no one should ever have confused the entertainment business with a warm binkie, the institutions themselves are in the new and awkward spot of having to justify their existence.—
Dana Harris-Bridson,
IndieWire,
12 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Tousle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tousle. Accessed 25 May. 2025.
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