tangled

Adjective
US[tang-guhld]/ˈtæŋɡəld/2 syllables
Synonyms: Byzantineconvolutedinvolvedknottytortuouslabyrinthine

Open English WordNet

Adjective (2)

  1. in a confused mass“pushed back her tangled hair”“the tangled ropes”Opposite untangledSimilar thrown, entangled, matted, enmeshed, rootbound, knotty, afoul
  2. highly complex or intricate and occasionally devious“the Byzantine tax structure”“Byzantine methods for holding on to his chairmanship”“convoluted legal language”“convoluted reasoning”“the plot was too involved”“a knotty problem”“got his way by labyrinthine maneuvering”“Oh, what a tangled web we weave — Sir Walter Scott”“tortuous legal procedures”“tortuous negotiations lasting for months”Synonyms: ByzantineconvolutedinvolvedknottytortuouslabyrinthineOpposite simpleSimilar complex
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arcaneadjective

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Webster's Dictionary (1913)

“tangled” is listed under Tangle.

Tan′gle transitive verb [past tense & past participle Tangled; present participle & verbal noun Tangling.]

Origin: A frequentative fr. tang seaweed; hence, to twist like seaweed. See Tang seaweed, and cf. Tangle, noun

1. To unite or knit together confusedly; to interweave or interlock, as threads, so as to make it difficult to unravel the knot; to entangle; to ravel.

2. To involve; to insnare; to entrap; as, to be tangled in lies. “Tangled in amorous nets.” John Milton

When my simple weakness strays, Tangled in forbidden ways.— Richard Crashaw

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54

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