tangle
tangle — 名詞
1. hair, string, wires, or similar items that are twisted together in a disordered
纏結；混亂
纏在一起的雜亂狀態；混亂難解的狀況
hair, string, wires, or similar items that are twisted together in a disordered way, forming a messy knot; also, a confused situation that is hard to understand or sort out
Rin spent an hour brushing the tangles out of her long hair after the walk.
Rin 在散步後花了一小時梳理長髮上的糾結。
collocation: brush tangles out of hair
A messy tangle of old charging cables lay behind Felipe's desk.
Felipe 的書桌後面有一團亂七八糟的舊充電線。
The tax forms were such a tangle that Dario asked an accountant for help.
那份報稅表格太過複雜，Dario 只好找會計師幫忙。
The path was blocked by a dense tangle of bushes and climbing plants.
那條小路被一叢茂密的灌木和攀緣植物擋住了。
- order
a tidy, well-arranged state
文法句型
a tangle of [things]
常見錯誤
2. an angry argument or quarrel between two people or groups
爭執；衝突
雙方之間的爭吵或衝突
an angry argument or quarrel between two people or groups
Aarav got into a tangle with his neighbour over the garden fence.
Aarav 因為花園圍牆的問題跟鄰居起了爭執。
collocation: get into a tangle with [someone]
The two politicians had a legal tangle that dragged on for months.
那兩位政治人物陷入了長達數月的法律糾紛。
collocation: a legal tangle
Gita tried to avoid any tangle with her difficult colleague at work.
Gita 在工作上盡量避免和那位難相處的同事起衝突。
The contract dispute turned into a nasty tangle between the two companies.
那份合約糾紛演變成兩家公司之間的一場惡鬥。
- agreement
a situation where people share the same view or have settled their differences
文法句型
a tangle with [someone]
用法筆記
Often appears in the phrase 'a tangle with [someone]' or 'get into a tangle'. Less common in formal writing, where 'dispute' or 'conflict' would be preferred.
常見錯誤
tangle — 動詞
1. to become twisted together in a messy way, or to cause hair, string, wires, or s
纏繞；糾結
使線繩等纏在一起，或纏住
to become twisted together in a messy way, or to cause hair, string, wires, or similar items to become twisted together in a messy way
Strong winds tangled the power lines, cutting off electricity to the town.
強風吹亂了電線，導致小鎮停電。
transitive: [wind/force] tangles [something]
The more Rin tried to sort the cables, the more they tangled together.
Rin 越是想整理那些電線，它們就纏得越緊。
intransitive: [things] tangle together
Felipe's earphone wires tangled around the handle of his bag.
Felipe 的耳機線纏繞在書包提把上。
The children tangled the ribbons so badly that nobody could untie them.
孩子們把緞帶纏得一團亂，沒有人解得開。
- untangle
to separate twisted items and restore order
- straighten
to make something neat and not twisted
文法句型
[something] tangles
[someone] tangles [something]
[something] tangles around [something]
用法筆記
The verb can be used transitively ([someone] tangles [something]) or intransitively ([something] tangles). When the cause is unclear, the intransitive or passive form ('got tangled') is more natural.
常見錯誤
2. to draw someone into a problem or a complicated situation that causes difficulty
牽連；捲入
使某人陷入麻煩或困境
to draw someone into a problem or a complicated situation that causes difficulty or worry
Justin got tangled in a dispute between two departments at work.
Justin 在工作上被捲入了兩個部門之間的糾紛。
passive: get tangled in [a dispute/problem]
The mayor was tangled up in a corruption investigation for years.
那位市長多年來一直被牽扯在一項貪腐調查中。
passive: be tangled up in [an investigation]
Talia warned her brother not to get tangled with the gang members.
Talia 警告弟弟不要和幫派分子扯上關係。
The complex contract tangled the startup in obligations it could not meet.
那份複雜的合約讓新創公司背負了無力承擔的義務。
- extricate
to free someone from a difficult situation
文法句型
be tangled in [something]
get tangled in [something]
tangle [someone] in [something]
用法筆記
Most commonly used in the passive voice ('get tangled in' or 'be tangled in'). The active transitive form ('tangle [someone] in [something]') is less frequent but grammatical. The preposition is usually 'in' for situations and 'with' for people.