wrangle
Plural: wrangles
Noun
- an angry dispute
- an instance of intense argument (as in bargaining)
- An angry dispute; a noisy quarrel; an altercation.
- Angry disputation; noisy quarrelling.
- A contentious argument or response.
- A controversy.
Verb
Verb Forms: wrangled, wrangling, wrangles
- To argue or dispute, typically in a noisy or lengthy manner.
- to quarrel noisily, angrily or disruptively
- "The bar keeper threw them out, but they continued to wrangle on down the street"
- herd and care for
- "wrangle horses"
- To convince or influence (someone) by arguing or contending.
- Followed by out of: to elicit (something) from a person by arguing or bargaining.
- To speak or write (something) in an argumentative or contentious manner.
- To spend (time) arguing or quarrelling.
- To herd (horses or other livestock).
- To herd (horses or other livestock).
- To manage or supervise (people).
- To herd (horses or other livestock).
- To gather and organize (data, facts, information, etc.), especially in a way which requires sentience rather than automated methods alone, as in data wrangling.
- Followed by out of: to compel or drive (someone or something) away through arguing.
- Followed by out: to put forward arguments on (a case, a matter disagreed upon, etc.).
- To cause (oneself) grief through arguing or quarrelling.
- To quarrel angrily and noisily; to bicker.
- To make harsh noises as if quarrelling.
- To argue, to debate; also (dated), to debate or discuss publicly, especially about a thesis at a university.
Examples
- They began to wrangle over the validity of a highly unusual word.
- Wrangle and bloodshed followed thence.
Origin / Etymology
The verb is derived from Middle English wranglen, wrangle (“to contend with (someone) in a test of strength; (figuratively) to make misleading arguments to entrap”); from a Middle Dutch or Middle Low German word related to Middle Dutch wrangen and Middle Low German wrangen (“to cause an uproar; to struggle, wrestle”) (whence Low German wrangeln (“to wrangle”)), related to Middle Dutch wringen (“to twist; to wrest; to wring; to struggle, wrestle”), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *wringaną (“to squeeze; to twist; to wring”).
The noun is derived from the verb.
Cognates
* Danish vringle (“to twist, entangle”)
* German rangeln (“to wrestle”)
Synonyms
brawl, dustup, haggle, haggling, quarrel, row, run-in, words, wrangling, altercate, argue, barney, bicker, contend, jangle, munge, pettifog, quibble, squabble, tiff, wrangle
Scrabble Score: 11
wrangle: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Wordwrangle: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
wrangle: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary