entangle
verbUK /ɪnˈtaŋ.ɡəl/ · US /ɪnˈtæŋ.ɡəl/
Etymology From Middle English entanglen (“to involve [someone] in difficulty”, “to embarrass”). Equivalent to en- + tangle.
1
To tangle up; to twist or interweave in such a manner as not to be easily separated.
- The dolphins became entangled in a fishing net.
2
To involve in such complications as to render extrication difficult.
3
Figuratively To ensnare.
- But when I turn away, / Thou, willing me to stay, / Wooest not, nor vainly wranglest; / But, looking fixedly the while, / All my bounding heart entanglest, / In a golden-netted smile; […]1842, Alfred Tennyson, “Madeleine”, in Poems. […], volume I, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, stanza 3, page 19:
4
To involve in difficulties or embarrassments; to embarrass, puzzle, or distract by adverse or perplexing circumstances, interests, demands, etc.; to hamper; to bewilder.
- The story entangles the facts with value judgments.
- Derived terms
- entangleable, entanglon, hydroentangle, interentangle, unentangle
- Related terms
- entanglement, entangler, entangling