tousle

1 of 2

verb

tou·​sle ˈtau̇-zəl 

-səl

tousled; tousling

ˈtau̇z-liŋ,

ˈtau̇s-;

ˈtau̇-zə- 

-sə-

transitive verb

: dishevel, rumple

tousled hair

tousle

2 of 2

noun

tou·​sle ˈtau̇-zəl 

 sense 1 is also  ˈtü-

1

Scotland : rough dalliance : tussle

2

: a tangled mass (as of hair)

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Tousle and Functional Shift

The verb tousle today is typically used for the action of mussing someone’s hair playfully (“tousling the toddler’s hair”) or fussily (“tousling her tresses for that just-woke-up look”), but the word’s history is a bit edgier. Tousle and its synonym touse come from -tousen (“to pull or handle roughly”), a frequentative of the Middle English verb touselen. (A frequentative indicates repeated or recurrent action; sniffle, for example, is a frequentative of sniff.) Both tousle and touse have older meanings having to do with rough handling in general; before hair was tousled, people were—ouch. It’s no coincidence that another frequentative of -tousen, the Scots word tussillen, is the ancestor of the English verb tussle, meaning “to scuffle” or “to fight or struggle with someone by grabbing or pushing.”

Synonyms

Verb

• confuse
• derange
• disarrange
• disarray
• discompose
• dishevel
• disjoint
• dislocate
• disorder
• disorganize
• disrupt
• disturb
• hash
• jumble
• mess (up)
• mix (up)
• muddle
• muss
• rumple
• scramble
• shuffle
• tumble
• upset

Examples of tousle in a Sentence

Verb

She tousled the little boy's hair.

his grandfather would always tousle the boy's neatly combed hair

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

The flirtatious exchange began after Yung Miami shared a clip of herself on X/Twitter in a tight denim corset, playfully tousling her hair and giving the camera a wink and kiss. —Jessica Bennett, VIBE.com, 7 Feb. 2025

Her hair, styled by her go-to hairstylist, Tym Wallace, was brushed over to one side and tousled at the crown for a little volume, with the length hitting right below her cheekbone at a sharp angle. —Kara Nesvig, Allure, 4 Sep. 2024

Noun

There have been other close calls too: tousles with photographers, grudges against ex-colleagues and various rumours of disharmony at home. —Remy Blumenfeld, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Aug. 2024

Nine men arrested after protest against closing tunnel Nine men were taken into custody by NYPD officers on Monday after a tousle between police and a group of young Hasidic students protesting orders to close the tunnel. —USA TODAY, 11 Jan. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English touselen, frequentative of -tousen

First Known Use

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1788, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Kids Definition

tousle

verb

tou·​sle

ˈtau̇-zəl,

-səl

tousled; tousling

ˈtau̇z-(ə-)liŋ,

ˈtau̇s-

: to put into disorder by rough handling