tentacle
Octopus's grasping arm
A tentacle is a long, flexible appendage extending from the body of an animal, used for grasping, feeling, or moving.
Octopuses, squid, and jellyfish have tentacles.
The word extends to anything that reaches out like a tentacle: The corporation's tentacles spread into every sector of the economy.
The figurative use often implies sinister or invasive expansion.
Eight-limbed sea mollusk
- squidTen-armed marine mollusk
- cephalopodTentacled marine mollusk class
- jellyfishDrifting marine stinger
- krakenGiant squid of legend
nautilus · cuttlefish · sea anemone · hydra · mollusk · cnidarian · Portuguese man-of-war · coral
Projecting body part
- armUpper body limb
- limbJointed bodily projection
- suckerEasily fooled person
- extremityOutermost part or limit
protrusion · pseudopod · cirrus · flagellum · palp · siphon · mantle · beak
Easily fooled person
- slimyWet, slippery, unpleasant
- stickyApt to adhere
- tactileOf the touching sense
- sensitiveEasily affected emotionally
texture · groping · prehensile · undulating · writhing · slithering · moist · rubbery
Secure manual hold
- clutchMechanism linking engine to gearbox
- seizeTake suddenly, forcibly
- entwineWind around each other
- coilWound circular arrangement
wrap · snare · entangle · embrace · clasp · constrict · squeeze · capture
Make longer or larger
- stretchPull to extend
- sprawlExtend in disorderly fashion
- spreadTo distribute widely
- probeThorough examination or tool
unfurl · expansion · proliferation · creep · infiltrate · span · outreach · penetrate
Obscured by darkness
- far-reachingHaving broad impact
- webInterwoven filament structure
- networkInterconnected system
- influencePower to affect others
conspiracy · manipulation · control · infiltration · scheme · sinister · insidious · puppet strings
octopus
Eight-limbed sea mollusk
- squidTen-armed marine mollusk
- cephalopodTentacled marine mollusk class
- jellyfishDrifting marine stinger
kraken · nautilus · cuttlefish · sea anemone · hydra · mollusk · cnidarian · Portuguese man-of-war · coral · starfish
appendage
Projecting body part
extremity · protrusion · pseudopod · cirrus · flagellum · palp · siphon · mantle · beak
sucker
Easily fooled person
sensitive · texture · groping · prehensile · undulating · writhing · slithering · moist · rubbery · smooth
grip
Secure manual hold
coil · wrap · snare · entangle · embrace · clasp · constrict · squeeze · capture · hold
extend
Make longer or larger
probe · unfurl · expansion · proliferation · creep · infiltrate · span · outreach · penetrate · branch
shadowy
Obscured by darkness
- far-reachingHaving broad impact
- webInterwoven filament structure
- networkInterconnected system
influence · conspiracy · manipulation · control · infiltration · scheme · sinister · insidious · puppet strings · organization
- appendagesfins, fin, flipper, flippers, tail
- cnidarianssea anemone, corals, stony coral, moon jelly, jellyfish
- marine anatomyfin, fins, gill, gills, mantle
- prehensile partsmonkey tail, elephant trunk, opposable thumb
- mollusk partsradula, mantle, shell, siphon, gills
- ocean lifeocean, sea, sea creatures, shark, sea life
tentaclecore
Central essential portion
center · retreat · withdrawal · contraction · hub
- tentacle monsterMulti-limbed creature of terror
- sticky tentaclesGrasping limbs with suction
- squid tentacleCephalopod's grasping limb