tangled
part of speech
adjective; verb (past of tangle: tangle, tangles, tangled, tangling)
meaning for a pupil
1) Tangled means twisted together in a messy way that is hard to undo, like string, hair or wires. tree →
2) Tangled can mean complicated and confusing, like a tangled story. tree →
3) To get tangled up in something means to get caught in it or involved in it. tree →
sense in the lessons
In everyday life tangled hair needs brushing and tangled headphones need untangling; in nature and safety lessons animals can get tangled in plastic or fishing line. Phrases: «tangled up», «get tangled», «a tangled mess».
examples
- My headphones are all tangled. tree →
- She brushed her tangled hair. tree →
- The kite string got tangled in the tree. tree →
- Turtles can get tangled in fishing nets. tree →
- The story was a tangled web of lies. tree →
- The dog got tangled up in its lead. tree →
- Untangle the wool before you knit. tree →
- He fell into some tangled wood where he was held fast. tree →
note
Regular. Opposite verb: untangle. Saying: «Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practise to deceive» — lies get more and more complicated.
In the corpora
- City pigeons often get string or hair tangled round their toes, which can cut into the foot; wildlife rescuers carefully remove it.
- When they bow, their curly wigs get tangled, and Alice has to run off to hide her laughter.
- Animals swallow plastic and balloon pieces or get tangled in strings, so never let a balloon go outdoors.
- Never release balloons outdoors, because they come down as litter that animals swallow or get tangled in.
- Plastic in the sea kills many sea birds, turtles and fish that eat it or get tangled.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «tangled» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.