as in complicated
having many parts or aspects that are usually interrelated
it helps to have a lawyer to sort out the tangled contracts that home buyers typically have to contend with
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in trapped
to catch or hold as if in a net
was at last tangled in the web of lies that he had told to everyone
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in knotted
to twist together into a usually confused mass
that darn cat tangled the yarn I was trying to knit with
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of tangled
Emily Kelleher, InStyle, 30 Jan. 2026
The book picks up in the aftermath, leading you no closer to an absolute answer but through the tangled impossibility of ever fully knowing another person.
—Chloe Schama, Vogue, 24 Jan. 2026
Jim Saunders, Sun Sentinel, 26 Jan. 2026
Eventually, she is yanked from the car while still tangled in her seat belt.
—Ruby Cramer, New Yorker, 23 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for tangled
Adjective
Need to brush up on the tangled web of relationships before watching Season 4?
—Emily Kelleher, InStyle, 30 Jan. 2026
The book picks up in the aftermath, leading you no closer to an absolute answer but through the tangled impossibility of ever fully knowing another person.
—Chloe Schama, Vogue, 24 Jan. 2026
Verb
The other part of the lawsuit, involving out-of-state petition gatherers, was tangled in a separate federal-court fight about a law passed in 2025.
—Jim Saunders, Sun Sentinel, 26 Jan. 2026
Eventually, she is yanked from the car while still tangled in her seat belt.
—Ruby Cramer, New Yorker, 23 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for tangled
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tangled
Adjective
-
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Mladenov, a Bulgarian diplomat, as the director-general of the board meant to oversee the implementation of the second and far more complicated phase of the ceasefire.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
14 Feb. 2026
-
If simple, prefabricated asymmetric carbon fibers can act as tiny actuators, engineers may not need complicated coatings or redesigns to build micro-scale devices.—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
14 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The snowpack — measured by how much water is trapped inside — in Oregon is not only record low, but 30% lower than the previous record, said Jason Gerlich, regional drought early warning system coordinator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.—
Dorany Pineda,
Fortune,
10 Feb. 2026
-
My Turkishness, my experience of Turkey, my relationships with friends and relatives, are stunted, trapped in the past.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
But a pair of power-play goals by the Predators, and a bank shot off the arm of Gustavsson by former Gophers standout Erik Haula had the teams knotted 3-all after the initial 20 minutes.—
Jess Myers,
Twin Cities,
5 Feb. 2026
-
The teams were knotted at one goal apiece through the first three rounds of the shootout before Marchand scored the go-ahead goal, and Bobrovsky ended it with a save on the shot by Mittelstadt.—
Adam Lichtenstein,
Sun Sentinel,
5 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
In one space, costumes can be custom printed and cut using high-tech printers, while another space houses a room full of sewing machines where costumers spend 80 hours crafting an intricate fur-pattern cape with fringes and sequins.—
Patrick Connolly,
The Orlando Sentinel,
13 Feb. 2026
-
In addition to featuring intricate lacework, some pieces stand out for being crafted from chiffon and fluid satins, being punctuated by tiny floral embroideries and cascading daisy embellishments or simply for their buttery hues that add to the classic black and white propositions.—
Sandra Salibian,
Footwear News,
13 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
On Wall Street, the recovery for bitcoin helped stocks of companies enmeshed in the crypto economy.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
6 Feb. 2026
-
The tumbling prices dragged down stocks of companies enmeshed in the crypto industry.—
Stan Choe,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
These are common but complicate long-term planning for federal agencies.—
Hollie Silverman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Sep. 2025
-
Despite differing views on a variety of security issues, the group, like Gilpatric’s, reached a clear consensus: nuclear proliferation by any additional country would diminish U.S. power, complicate strategic planning, and increase the likelihood of nuclear use, accidents, and disasters.—
MARIANO-FLORENTINO CUÉLLAR,
Foreign Affairs,
25 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Overwhelm, already a danger to investigators managing a complex case, isn’t helped by online conspiracy theorists and other noisemakers.—
Paige Williams,
New Yorker,
14 Feb. 2026
-
The two supermassive black holes in the centers of each galaxy fall into orbit together and, like their stellar-mass cousins, can eventually spiral in and combine (though the details of this are a bit complex).—
Phil Plait,
Scientific American,
13 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tangled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tangled. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
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