Definition

1. Noun:

   • An angry, noisy, or prolonged argument or dispute: A "wrangle" refers to a heated, often lengthy disagreement characterized by loud voices and strong emotions.
   • An instance of intense argument (as in bargaining): It can also describe a tough, drawn-out negotiation or debate over terms or details.

2. Verb:

   • To argue or dispute angrily and noisily: The primary meaning is to engage in a loud, quarrelsome argument.
   • To herd and care for (livestock, especially horses): In a specific, chiefly North American context, it means to round up, manage, or tend to animals like horses or cattle.

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • The meeting turned into a long wrangle over budget allocations.
  • After the game, a wrangle broke out between the two groups of fans.

• Verb (to argue):

  • The siblings would often wrangle over who got to use the computer first.
  • Politicians continued to wrangle about the new law late into the night.

• Verb (to herd):

  • He spent the summer wrangling cattle on his uncle's ranch.
  • The job involves wrangling horses for the film production.

Advanced Usage

• "Wrangle over": To argue persistently about a specific issue or object.

  • The lawyers wrangled over the exact wording of the contract for hours.

• "Wrangle with": To struggle with or try to manage a difficult problem or concept.

  • She spent the afternoon wrangling with the new software's installation process. (This is a figurative extension of the verb.)

Variants and Related Words

• Wrangler (n):
  • A person who wrangles or argues.
  • (Chiefly North American) A cowboy or cowgirl, especially one who tends saddle horses.
• Wrangling (n/gerund): The act or process of arguing noisily or herding livestock.

Synonyms

• Noun (argument): Quarrel, altercation, squabble, dispute, bickering.
• Verb (to argue): Bicker, squabble, quarrel, argue, dispute.
• Verb (to herd): Herd, round up, tend, manage.

Related Phrasal Verbs

(Note: "Wrangle" is not commonly used with particles to form standard phrasal verbs. The prepositions "over" and "with" are used as shown in the "Advanced Usage" section.)

Related Idioms

• "A wrangle of...": While not a fixed idiom, "wrangle" can be used informally to describe a disorderly group, playing on its chaotic sense.
  • He had to manage a wrangle of reporters after the announcement.

Noun

1. an instance of intense argument (as in bargaining)
2. an angry dispute
   • they had a quarrel
   • they had words

Verb

1. herd and care for
   • wrangle horses
2. to quarrel noisily, angrily or disruptively
   • The bar keeper threw them out, but they continued to wrangle on down the street