ensnarled
Caught in tangles
Ensnarled means tangled up or caught in a snarl—literally or figuratively.
Traffic becomes ensnarled in gridlock.
A project gets ensnarled in bureaucracy.
The word combines the trapping sense of ensnare with the tangled mess of snarl: The fishing line was hopelessly ensnarled in the propeller.
Legal disputes ensnarled the merger for years.
Growled or knotted
- knottedTied with loops
- twistedWound around itself
- tangledTwisted confusedly together
- enmeshedCaught in complexity
interwoven · coiled · entwined · raveled · matted · gnarled · intertwined · webbed
Seized or grabbed
- confinedKept within bounds
- corneredUnable to flee
- imprisonedHeld in custody
- cagedConfined by bars
captured · bound · restrained · trammelled · penned · detained · stuck · mired
snarled
Growled or knotted
enmeshed · interwoven · coiled · entwined · raveled · matted · gnarled · intertwined · webbed · meshed
caught
Seized or grabbed
- confinedKept within bounds
- corneredUnable to flee
- imprisonedHeld in custody
caged · captured · bound · restrained · trammelled · penned · detained · stuck · mired · locked
blocked
Passage prevented or impeded
stymied · thwarted · stalled · bogged down · mired · stuck · held up · delayed · frustrated · constrained
complex
Having many interconnected parts
- convolutedExcessively complex or twisted
- tangledTwisted confusedly together
- intricateElaborately detailed, many parts
knotty · thorny · labyrinthine · byzantine · involved · elaborate · twisted · muddled · messy · chaotic
ensnarledfreed
Released from confinement
untangled · straightened · disentangled · released · liberated
ensnarledstraightforward
Clear and uncomplicated
uncomplicated · simple · clear · resolved · clarified