wrangle
gb/ɹˈæŋɡəl/ us/ɹˈæŋɡəl/
C1
English
veszekedik, marakodik, veszekedés, huzavona, megszervez, beterel, rendbe szed, terel, bánik
VERB
C1
1
veszekedik
B1
marakodik
B2
Usage pattern:
wrangle (with [someone]) (over/about [something])
They spent the whole meeting wrangling over who should lead the project.
Az egész értekezletet azzal töltötték, hogy azon veszekedtek, kinek kellene vezetnie a projektet.
The siblings wrangled for hours about whose turn it was to drive.
A testvérek órákig veszekedtek azon, kinek a sora vezetni.
We don’t have time to wrangle about minor wording changes.
Learner examples
The two men wrangled about money.
A két férfi a pénzen veszekedett.
Stop wrangling and decide.
Hagyd abba a veszekedést, és döntsetek.
Common mistake:
Don’t confuse with "wangle" (to obtain something by clever or dishonest methods).
Meaning
argue angrily for a long time
Collocations
wrangle over money
|wrangle over details
|wrangle about politics
|wrangle with a colleague
|wrangle with a neighbor
|wrangle endlessly
|wrangle loudly
|wrangle in public
|wrangle for hours
|wrangle over who is to blame
Synonyms
quarrel (Often more personal or emotional.)
|
bicker (Suggests petty, repeated arguing.)
|
dispute (More formal; focuses on disagreement rather than noise.)
|
squabble (Usually about something small or silly.)
Antonyms
agree (To share the same opinion rather than argue.)
|
reconcile (To restore friendly relations after conflict.)
Themes
communication
|conflict
|emotions
Definition
To argue a lot, often in an angry way.
To argue, often angrily and at length, especially about something that seems unimportant.
NOUN
C1
2
veszekedés
A2
huzavona
B2
Usage pattern:
a wrangle (over/about [something])
Their divorce turned into a long wrangle over property and custody.
A válásuk hosszú huzavonává fajult a vagyon és a gyermekelhelyezés körül.
The committee meeting ended in a wrangle about the budget.
A bizottsági ülés a költségvetés miatti veszekedéssel ért véget.
A wrangle erupted online after the policy change was announced.
Learner examples
It became a wrangle about money.
Pénz körüli veszekedés lett belőle.
Common mistake:
In this sense, "wrangle" is countable: "a wrangle" / "wrangles".
Meaning
a long, angry argument
Collocations
a bitter wrangle
|a public wrangle
|a legal wrangle
|a political wrangle
|a wrangle over pay
|a wrangle over land
|a wrangle about responsibility
|get into a wrangle
|end a wrangle
|a wrangle broke out
Synonyms
dispute (More neutral and often more formal.)
|
row (More informal (especially BrE).)
|
argument (General term; doesn’t imply prolonged bickering.)
Antonyms
agreement (A shared decision or view instead of conflict.)
|
harmony (A peaceful relationship without arguing.)
Themes
communication
|conflict
Definition
A long argument.
A noisy or prolonged argument or dispute.
VERB
C1
3
Usage pattern:
wrangle [people/things/information] (into [order/shape/place])
She wrangled the volunteers into small teams and got everyone moving.
Kisebb csapatokba szervezte az önkénteseket, és mindenkit mozgásba hozott.
It took all morning to wrangle the travel plans for six people.
Az egész délelőtt ráment, mire megszervezte hat ember utazását.
He spent the afternoon wrangling messy spreadsheets into a clean report.
Learner examples
I wrangled the kids into the car.
Betereltem a gyerekeket a kocsiba.
She wrangled the papers into order.
Rendbe szedte a papírokat.
Common mistake:
This sense is about managing/organizing; it does not mean simply “hold” or “carry.”
Meaning
manage or organize with effort
Collocations
wrangle a schedule
|wrangle a team
|wrangle a group of kids
|wrangle volunteers
|wrangle paperwork
|wrangle files
|wrangle data
|wrangle logistics
|wrangle a chaotic situation
|wrangle everything into place
Synonyms
manage (More general and less vivid.)
|
handle (Focuses on dealing with a task rather than bringing order.)
|
corral (Emphasizes gathering/control, often of people.)
|
organize (Focuses on arranging systematically; less about difficulty.)
Antonyms
mismanage (To handle something badly rather than successfully.)
|
neglect (To fail to deal with something that needs attention.)
Themes
daily_life
|work
|planning
Definition
To control or organize something difficult.
To manage, control, or organize something difficult or messy, especially by using a lot of practical effort.
VERB
C1
4
Usage pattern:
wrangle [cattle/horses]
The ranch hands wrangled the cattle into the holding pens before dusk.
Az alkonyat előtt a ranch dolgozói beterelték a marhákat a karámokba.
She learned to wrangle horses safely when she was a teenager.
Tizenéves korában megtanult biztonságosan bánni a lovakkal.
It’s hard to wrangle livestock in heavy rain.
Learner examples
They wrangled the horses.
Terelték a lovakat.
Common mistake:
This meaning is common in ranch contexts; in everyday city contexts, the “argue” and “manage” senses are more likely.
Meaning
herd and handle livestock
Collocations
wrangle cattle
|wrangle horses
|wrangle livestock
|wrangle a herd
|wrangle the horses into the corral
|wrangle on a ranch
Synonyms
herd (General term; less specific to active handling.)
|
corral (Emphasizes driving animals into an enclosure.)
Antonyms
release (To let animals go rather than control them.)
|
scatter (To cause animals to spread out instead of gathering them.)
Themes
animals
|outdoors
|work
Definition
To control animals like cattle or horses.
To herd, control, or handle livestock, especially cattle or horses.
Grammar
Dictionary form
wrangle
IPA
GB/ɹˈæŋɡəl/
US/ɹˈæŋɡəl/
Syllables & stress
wrangle (1 syllable)
Stress on 1st syllable (wrangle)
Word forms
Verb
- Base: wrangle
- 3rd Person Singular: wrangles
- Present Participle: wrangling
- Past: wrangled
Expressions
data wrangling
1/dˈætə ɹˈæŋɡlɪŋ/
fixed phrase
technical
cleaning and reshaping data
Preparing messy data so it is usable.
Examples
- Most of the project was data wrangling, not modeling.
- We need better tools for data wrangling before the next release.
- She specializes in data wrangling for large datasets.
wrangle [someone] into [doing something/being somewhere]
1/ɹˈæŋɡəl sˈʌmwˌʌn ˈɪntu dˈuɪŋ səmˈɛθɪŋbɪŋ sˈʌmwˌɛɹ/
fixed phrase
informal
persuade or force into action
To make someone do something they don’t want to do.
Examples
- We finally wrangled him into coming to the party.
- She wrangled the kids into bed before 9 p.m.
- They wrangled the team into agreeing on a deadline.
Learner examples
- I wrangled my brother into helping me.
wrangle [yourself/someone] out of [something]
1/ɹˈæŋɡəl jˈɔɹsəlfsˈoʊmˈoʊn ˈaʊt əv sˈʌmθɪŋ/
fixed phrase
informal
get out of a commitment
To escape something you promised to do.
Examples
- He tried to wrangle himself out of the weekend shift.
- I wrangled out of the meeting by offering to send a written update.
- They wrangled her out of trouble with a last-minute compromise.
Learner examples
- She wrangled herself out of the meeting.
wrangle up [someone/something]
1/ɹˈæŋɡəl ˈʌp sˈoʊmˈoʊnsəmˈɛθɪŋ/
phrasal verb
informal
round up or gather people/things
To collect people or things, usually with effort.
Examples
- Can you wrangle up a few chairs from the other room?
- We wrangled up enough volunteers to run the event.
- I’ll wrangle up everyone and we’ll start in five minutes.
Learner examples
- He wrangled up some help.
wrangle with [something]
1/ɹˈæŋɡəl wˈɪθ sˈʌmθɪŋ/
fixed phrase
struggle to deal with something
To try hard to solve or manage something difficult.
Examples
- I’ve been wrangling with this software bug all afternoon.
- She wrangled with the paperwork until it finally made sense.
- He’s still wrangling with the decision about where to live.
Learner examples
- I am wrangling with a problem.