/ ˈtentəkl; NAmE / noun
1.
[ C ] a long thin part of the body of some creatures, such as an octopus , used for feeling or holding things, for moving or for getting food :
( figurative )
Tentacles of fear closed around her body.
—picture at octopus
2.
tentacles [ pl. ] (usually disapproving ) the influence that a large place, organization or system has and that is hard to avoid :
The tentacles of satellite television are spreading even wider.
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WORD ORIGIN
mid 18th cent.: anglicized from modern Latin tentaculum , from Latin tentare , temptare to feel, try.