Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Tangle \Tan"gle\, v. i.
   To be entangled or united confusedly; to get in a tangle.

Tangle \Tan"gle\, n.
   1. [Cf. Icel. [thorn]["o]ngull. See {Tang} seaweed.] (Bot.)
      Any large blackish seaweed, especially the {Laminaria
      saccharina}. See {Kelp}.

            Coral and sea fan and tangle, the blooms and the
            palms of the ocean.                   --C. Kingsley.

   2. [From {Tangle}, v.] A knot of threads, or other thing,
      united confusedly, or so interwoven as not to be easily
      disengaged; a snarl; as, hair or yarn in tangles; a tangle
      of vines and briers. Used also figuratively.

   3. pl. An instrument consisting essentially of an iron bar to
      which are attached swabs, or bundles of frayed rope, or
      other similar substances, -- used to capture starfishes,
      sea urchins, and other similar creatures living at the
      bottom of the sea.

   {Blue tangle}. (Bot.)See {Dangleberry}.

   {Tangle picker} (Zo["o]l.), the turnstone. [Prov. Eng.]

Tangle \Tan"gle\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Tangled}; p. pr. & vb. n.
   {Tangling}.] [A frequentative fr. tang seaweed; hence, to
   twist like seaweed. See {Tang} seaweed, and cf. {Tangle}, n.]
   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.'' --Milton.

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

Source : WordNet®

tangle
     n 1: a twisted and tangled mass that is highly interwoven; "they
          carved their way through the tangle of vines"
     2: something jumbled or confused; "a tangle of government
        regulations" [syn: {snarl}, {maze}]

tangle
     v 1: force into some kind of situation, condition, or course of
          action; "They were swept up by the events"; "don't drag
          me into this business" [syn: {embroil}, {sweep}, {sweep
          up}, {drag}, {drag in}]
     2: tangle or complicate; "a ravelled story" [syn: {ravel}, {knot}]
        [ant: {unravel}, {unravel}]
     3: disarrange or rumple; dishevel; "The strong wind tousled my
        hair" [syn: {tousle}, {dishevel}]
     4: twist together or entwine into a confusing mass; "The child
        entangled the cord" [syn: {entangle}, {mat}, {snarl}]
        [ant: {disentangle}, {disentangle}]