enmarañar

to tangle

enmarañar(ehn-mah-rah-nyahr)

transitive verb

1. (to make messy)

a. to tangle

El fuerte viento enmarañó los cables de teléfono que pasan por encima de nuestra casa.

The heavy winds tangled the telephone wires that run above our house.

b. to tangle up

El gato enmarañó el ovillo de lana.

The cat tangled up the yarn.

2. (to make complex)

a. to complicate

No quería que mi madre hablara con mi novia de nuestros problemas porque iba a enmarañar más el asunto todavía.

I didn't want my mom to talk to my girlfriend about our problems because that would complicate matters even further.

3. (to perplex)

a. to confuse

Los timadores lograron enmarañar a José con sus argucias.

The conmen managed to confuse Jose with their chicanery.

enmarañarse

pronominal verb

4. (to become messy)

a. to get tangled

Se me enmarañó el pelo tanto con el viento que me costó una eternidad desenredarlo.

My hair got so tangled in the wind that it took me ages to disentangle it.

5. (to become complex)

a. to get complicated

Ya nada estaba claro entre nosotros. Todo se había enmarañado.

Nothing was clear between us anymore. Everything had gotten complicated.

b. to become complicated

No es una novela fácil de leer. La trama se enmaraña muy rápidamente.

It's not an easy novel to read. The plot becomes complicated very quickly.

6. (to be perplexed)

a. to get confused

Lupe se enmarañaba entre tantos números y le resultaba imposible entender las cuentas de la tienda.

Lupe would get confused by so many numbers and found the store's accounts impossible to understand.