I. verb
also tou·sel or tou·zle or tow·zle or tow·sle ˈtau̇zəl
( tousled ; tousled ; tousling -z(ə)liŋ ; tousles )
Etymology: Middle English touselen, from -tousen to touse + -len -le
transitive verb
1. : to disorder by rough handling : dishevel
stood before the mirror arranging her hair which had been tousled by the wind — Thomas Wolfe
2. : to indulge in tussling or horseplay with : pull or drag here and there
intransitive verb
: to throw things into disorder : become disheveled
full-cut hair tousles over his forehead and sideburns frame his … face — Time
II. “, in sense 1 ˈtüzəl noun
( -s )
1. Scotland : rough dalliance : tussle
2. : a tangled mass : disordered state
tousle of auburn curls — J.W.Vandercook
the church … surrounded by a tousle of half-grown pines — Ruth Park