tousle hair

Meanings

1. 1phrasetransitive

   To make someone's hair look untidy by rubbing or running your fingers through it.

   Grammar: Takes an object: tousle someone's hair. The object is usually a possessive plus 'hair'.

   Patterns

   • tousle someone's hair
   • tousle your hair
   • tousle her hair

   He laughed and tousled his little brother's hair.

   She tousled her hair in front of the mirror to make it look casual.

   The wind had tousled his hair into a mess.

2. 2phrasetransitive

   To make hair slightly messy in a deliberate, stylish way.

   Grammar: Often used in the passive or with a result: hair that has been tousled.

   Patterns

   • tousled hair
   • get your hair tousled
   • have tousled hair

   The model had carefully tousled hair for the photo shoot.

   He arrived with wet, tousled hair after swimming.

   For a relaxed look, tousle your hair with a little gel.

Common combinations

tousle someone's hair

She tousled her son's hair as he ran past.

tousled hair

He walked in with tousled hair and a sleepy smile.

playfully tousle

He playfully tousled her hair after she teased him.

tousle it dry

Tousle it dry with a towel instead of brushing.

affectionately tousle

The coach affectionately tousled the boy's hair.

Synonyms and how they differ

mess up

More general and can refer to clothes or rooms, not just hair.

rumple

Suggests pressing and wrinkling, and is used more for fabric than hair.

ruffle

Often means disturbing feathers or calm surfaces; for hair it sounds gentler and lighter.

Opposites

Word family

tousled adjective

Looking untidy or pleasantly messy, especially of hair.

tousle verb

The base verb, meaning to make hair untidy.

Commonly confused: tousle hair or tussle?

Practice

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Write a sentence using “tousle hair”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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