Dictionary

entanglement en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /ɪnˈtæŋɡəlmənt/

Etymology

Etymology tree Middle English entanglen English entangle Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥ Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥tom Proto-Italic *-mentom Latin -mentum Old French -mentbor. Middle English -ment English -ment English entanglement From entangle + -ment.

Meanings

1. (countable, uncountable) The act of entangling.
   • The most notorious of these was his entanglement of the Soviet Union in the Cuban missile crisis, against the advice of the military, who held him responsible for their embarrassing inability to frighten the USA because he had failed[…] 2002, David Robertson, David Professor Robertson, A Dictionary of Modern Politics, Psychology Press, →ISBN, page 266:
2. (countable, uncountable) The state or condition of being entangled; intricate and confused involution. ▸ The condition of being deeply involved and intricated (with politics, a group, another person, etc.)
   • The Letters' account of Dolghurucki's hopeless entanglement in the politics of the imperial accession resonated with her readers, and Vigor's story becomes a minor set piece of Russian histories in the eighteenth century. 2018 June 30, Katrina O'Loughlin, Women, Writing, and Travel in the Eighteenth Century, Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 110:
3. (countable, uncountable) The state or condition of being entangled; intricate and confused involution. ▸ The condition, or an instance, of being romantically or sexually involved with another person; an affair.
   • For quotations using this term, see Citations:entanglement.
4. (countable, uncountable) That which entangles; an involvement, a complication; an intricacy; a perplexity. ▸ An obstruction placed in front or on the flank of a fortification, to impede an enemy's approach.
5. (countable, uncountable) That which entangles; an involvement, a complication; an intricacy; a perplexity. ▸ An obstruction of cables and spars across a river or harbour entrance.
6. (abbreviation, alt-of, countable, ellipsis, uncountable) Ellipsis of quantum entanglement.
   alt of quantum entanglement
   • In his article, Bell demonstrated that quantum theory requires entanglement; the strange connectedness is an inescapable feature of the equations. 2014 November 14, David Kaiser, “Is Quantum Entanglement Real?”, in New York Times:

Forms

Deriveds

unentanglement · disentanglement · quantum entanglement · hyperentanglement · nonentanglement · hydroentanglement

Relateds

entangling · entangler

Translations (36)

ga fostú (the state of being entangled) · cs intrika (that which entangles; intricacy; perplexity) · es enredo (the state of being entangled) · pl gmatwanina (that which entangles; intricacy; perplexity) · ro încurcătură (the state of being entangled) · fr intrication (the state of being entangled) · nl verstrikking (the state of being entangled) · fi sotkeutuminen (the state of being entangled) · es romance (the state of being entangled) · ka გადახლართულობა (the state of being entangled) · ka ჩახლართულობა (that which entangles; intricacy; perplexity) · fi kietoutuminen (the state of being entangled) · cs pletka (that which entangles; intricacy; perplexity) · ga aimhréidh (the state of being entangled) · ro complicație (the state of being entangled) · pl splątanie (the state of being entangled) · pl plątanina (that which entangles; intricacy; perplexity) · ru пу́таница (that which entangles; intricacy; perplexity) · de Gewirr (the state of being entangled) · tr karışma (the state of being entangled) · de Verwicklung (the state of being entangled) · it groviglio (the state of being entangled) · ro situație complicată (the state of being entangled) · ga achrann (the state of being entangled) · nl verwarring (the state of being entangled) · it intreccio (the state of being entangled) · nl verwikkeling (the state of being entangled) · ja 縺れ (the state of being entangled) · ga paintéaracht (the state of being entangled) · ka დახლართულობა (the state of being entangled) · cs spleť (the state of being entangled) · nl verstrengeling (the state of being entangled) · mi rorenga (that which entangles; intricacy; perplexity) · fi sotku (that which entangles; intricacy; perplexity) · mi rorenga (the state of being entangled) · tr yer alma (the state of being entangled)