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entanglement

entanglement

3 6.3
Two or more things twisted together so they are hard to separate
  • noun
  • /ɪnˈtæŋɡlmənt/
translation icon : enmarañamiento
  • The scientist explained that the entanglement of two particles could lead to strange behaviors over long distances.
  • entanglement in fishing nets

In other words, Dave agrees quantum mechanics is strange stuff like quantum entanglement and Schrodinger's cat.

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Examples

  • Art could only find its way into the museum once it was freed from the murky entanglements of community.

    Academic text (1991)
  • Larissa dutifully freed the yawl from its entanglement and pushed off into the water.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • And so here we have even some entanglement in space.

  • Hang on, I'm going to, um, free myself from an entanglement.

  • How a measurement is really the establishment of entanglement between systems.

  • So some people have suggested that quantum entanglement may provide an explanation for consciousness.

  • The theory is there, initial tests are sound, and we have in fact used entanglement for faster-than-light communication already.

    Blog text (26)
  • Essentially what you're seeing is the entanglement and space are intimately related.

  • The fisherman worked quickly to remove the net from the dolphin's entanglement before it could drown.

  • The child's hair was in such a state of entanglement after playing outside that it took hours to comb it out.

Synonyms

inseparability
vsentanglement
1 7.4

A situation where you cannot split people or things apart, like close friends

means a close twisted connection that may still allow separation
intertwinement
vsentanglement
7.0

Things twisted and woven together so they are closely connected

focuses on literal tangled connection rather than broad figurative weaving
entwinement
vsentanglement
7.2

A state in which things are twisted or woven closely together

emphasizes the resulting difficult separation rather than the twisting process
enmeshment
vsentanglement
7.8

A state where something is caught in a net or tangled in lines

refers more generally to tight connections not limited to physical entrapment
inextricability
vsentanglement
9.9

A situation in which two things cannot be separated

means difficult to separate rather than utterly impossible to leave

Antonyms

89 2.6

The process of moving apart or staying apart

Freeing things or people trapped in knots and difficult situations

How Tangled

entanglement
3 6.3
tangle
22 3.9

Surface Forms

entanglement singular
entanglements plural

Morphology

entanglement = entangle (transparent) = en + tangle + ment

Standard noun formation from the verb 'entangle' indicating the physical state or condition of being tangled.

Etymology

Entanglement comes from en- 'in' and tangle 'a knot', so it literally means 'in a knot'. That image helps: when things are twisted or joined together, like messy cables, they are an entanglement because they are hard to separate.