tousles

verb

present tense third-person singular of tousle
as in disrupts
to undo the proper order or arrangement of his grandfather would always tousle the boy's neatly combed hair

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for tousles
  1. disrupts
  2. shuffles
  3. confuses
  4. disturbs
Verb
  • Montemayor told Campus Insights Media that alcohol disrupts rest at a biological level, fragmenting sleep into short bursts that leave a person feeling drained the following morning.
    — Ryan Brennan, Charlotte Observer, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Plantation owners and traditional farmers often start fires to clear land for farming at low cost, triggering hazardous haze that reduces visibility, disrupts land and air transportation and threatens public health.
    — Muhammad Hatta, Los Angeles Times, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of disrupts
Verb
  • In the clip, Dawkins shuffles out onto the field with no shirt, a pair of Crocs and a clear plastic bag ready to get the ol' inside-out treatment.
    — Matt Reigle OutKick, FOXNews.com, 16 Aug. 2026
  • An exhibition game also shuffles the storylines — some players emerge, others might fade.
    — Brooks Kubena, New York Times, 15 Aug. 2026
Definition of shuffles
Verb
  • Retreat to the previous paragraph if the question confuses you.
    — John Tamny, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026
  • Any adversary who confuses media noise with American weakness will discover the truth the hard way.
    — Michael Loria, USA Today, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of confuses
Verb
  • Tilling or plowing in the summer disturbs the soil's delicate ecosystem and exposes moist soil to rapid water loss.
    — Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 24 June 2026
  • The pier in Michigan City’s Washington Park disturbs the natural flow of sand along the lakeshore, creating new land east of the pier but starving beaches to the west, an erosion problem repeated by other manmade structures that jut out into Lake Michigan.
    — Doug Ross, Chicago Tribune, 15 June 2026
Definition of disturbs
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

tousled
tousles
tousling
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Cite this Entry

“Tousles.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tousles. Accessed 30 Aug. 2026.

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