Tussle (Verb)
Meaning 1
Make messy or untidy; "the child mussed up my hair".
Classification
Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging.
Examples
- The little boy's fingers would tussle my hair the moment I bent down to kiss him.
- Her dog loved to jump up and tussle everyone's clothes when they came home from work.
- The strong winds overnight tussled the clean laundry that was hanging out to dry on the line.
- During the wrestling match, the opponents would tussle the mat with each other before moving to the floor.
- The playful kitten's claws began to tussle my new sweater the instant I put it on.
Synonyms
Hypernyms
Meaning 2
Fight or struggle in a confused way at close quarters; "the drunken men started to scuffle".
Classification
Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging.
Examples
- The two boxers began to tussle in the final round, each fighter trying to overpower the other.
- The police had to intervene when the two men started to tussle outside the bar.
- The kittens began to tussle in the basket, their tiny paws flailing wildly.
- The opponents tussled for the ball as the referee watched anxiously.
- In the overcrowded market, two women tussled over the last remaining discounted item.