as in to disrupt
to undo the proper order or arrangement of
his grandfather would always tousle the boy's neatly combed hair
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Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of tousle
The waves weren't precise or uniform in shape, but rather looked as though they'd been styled with a three-barrel iron, then roughed up and tousled for an undone finish.
—
Kara Nesvig, Allure, 25 Jan. 2024
For that morning’s scene, her light-auburn hair had been artfully curled and tousled by her longtime hairdresser, Frédéric Souquet.
—Rebecca Mead, The New Yorker, 6 Dec. 2023
Both the royal and the presidential couples appeared to struggle with a strong wind, which tousled Macron’s hair and forced Camilla to hold on tightly to her pink, beret-style hat.
—Sylvie Corbet, Fortune, 20 Sep. 2023
Follow-up videos then showed the mom-of-four posing with her hair tousled to one side and pouting her lips with a hand held up to her face.
—Jill Lupupa, Peoplemag, 28 July 2023
See all Example Sentences for tousle 
Kara Nesvig, Allure, 25 Jan. 2024
For that morning’s scene, her light-auburn hair had been artfully curled and tousled by her longtime hairdresser, Frédéric Souquet.
—Rebecca Mead, The New Yorker, 6 Dec. 2023
Both the royal and the presidential couples appeared to struggle with a strong wind, which tousled Macron’s hair and forced Camilla to hold on tightly to her pink, beret-style hat.
—Sylvie Corbet, Fortune, 20 Sep. 2023
Follow-up videos then showed the mom-of-four posing with her hair tousled to one side and pouting her lips with a hand held up to her face.
—Jill Lupupa, Peoplemag, 28 July 2023
See all Example Sentences for tousle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tousle
Verb
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As the region grapples with the sheer number of homes and buildings destroyed, livelihoods disrupted and lives lost, its signature industry will face yet another setback in the loss of go-to filming spots, particularly in the Altadena area and Pacific Palisades.—
Samantha Masunaga,
Los Angeles Times,
16 Jan. 2025
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While many organizations prioritize technology, additional areas outside the technological realm can disrupt security capabilities and affect vulnerability management.—
Dewayne Hart,
Forbes,
16 Jan. 2025
Verb
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As he’s been awaiting trial in Charlotte since his arrest in 2012 on a first-degree murder charge, Perkins has been shuffled between the Mecklenburg County jail, Broughton Hospital, Central Prison, and Central Regional Hospital dozens of times.—
Kallie Cox,
Charlotte Observer,
17 Jan. 2025
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Players can shuffle and rearrange the board of words to help them with guessing the connections.—
Michael Gfoeller And David H. Rundell,
Newsweek,
15 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Do not use strong perfumes or colognes, which can disturb the experience for others.—
Cory Martin,
Verywell Health,
23 Jan. 2025
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The show is a display of staged orderly chaos, models walking across a hilly, grassy arena, crossing in and out around the little knolls, never disturbing or interrupting each other’s paths.—
Aamina Inayat Khan,
StyleCaster,
21 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Evans believes a lack of planning is largely to blame for our productivity failures, and warns people not to confuse being busy with being productive.—
Barnaby Lashbrooke,
Forbes,
13 Jan. 2025
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Penn State’s receivers won’t be confused for an elite group, but tight end Tyler Warren is the top player in the country at that position, and the running back duo of Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton is one of the nation’s best.—
Antonio Morales,
The Athletic,
9 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near tousle
Cite this Entry
“Tousle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tousle. Accessed 27 Jan. 2025.
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