entangle means to tangle up; to twist or interweave in such a manner as not to be easily separated. It carries an Arena rating of 1753, earned across 137 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, entangle ranks #29 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words, #650 of 17,142 for Most Ingenious Words, #1,433 of 17,126 for Most Satisfying to Say, #2,575 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words.
entangle is pronounced /ɪnˈtaŋ.ɡəl/.
Why “entangle” is a great word
ENTANGLE — [Verb] To twist or interweave into a complicated mass that is difficult to separate, or to involve someone in a compromising situation. From Middle English entanglen, from the intensive prefix en- + tangle (of Germanic origin, related to Swedish dialect taggla 'to disarrange'). First attested in the early 15th century. Unlike ensnare, which implies deliberate trapping, or intertwine, which suggests orderly weaving, to entangle is to create a state of adhesive confusion, often by accident. It is the fishing line snarled beyond salvage in submerged roots, the bureaucratic procedure that knots a simple request in red tape, or the casual promise that slowly weaves a web of obligation. We are forever catching ourselves in the nets we did not mean to weave.
Etymology
From Middle English entanglen (“to involve [someone] in difficulty”, “to embarrass”). Equivalent to en- + tangle.
verb
- To tangle up; to twist or interweave in such a manner as not to be easily separated.e.g.“The dolphins became entangled in a fishing net.”
- To involve in such complications as to render extrication difficult.
- To ensnare.e.g.“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:
- To involve in difficulties or embarrassments; to embarrass, puzzle, or distract by adverse or perplexing circumstances, interests, demands, etc.; to hamper; to bewilder.e.g.“The story entangles the facts with value judgments.”
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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