intertwine

in·ter·twine
I1N1T1E1R1T1W4I1N1E1
UK/ˌɪntəˈtwaɪn/US/ˌɪntəɹˈtwaɪn/US[-ɾəɹ-]

verb

To twine (things) together.

Similar
entwinelacetwinebetwinebraidentwistinterlaceinterthread
Opposite
unraveluntwineunweave
OriginEnglish twine ← Latin inter- ← Proto-Italic *n̥ter →
UncommonScrabble 13
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

verbintertwine (third-person singular simple present intertwines, present participle intertwining, simple past and past participle intertwined)

present singular third person intertwines · participle present intertwining · participle past intertwined · past intertwined

  1. transitiveTo twine (things) together.

    You see, no doubt, that yet again, thanks to this intertwining, our many-headed sophist has forced us against our will to admit that what is not is in a way.

    2005, Plato, translated by Lesley Brown, Sophist, page 240c

    Synonyms: entwine, lace, twine

  2. transitiveTo connect (things) closely.
  3. intransitiveTo become twined together.
  4. figurativelyintransitiveTo become mutually involved.

    Iris changes in PXF closely intertwine with lenticular findings.

    2013 December 20, “Preoperative considerations in patients with cataracts and pseudoexfoliation syndrome”, in Optometry Times

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo twine (things) together.

Similar
entwinelacetwine
Similar
betwinebraidentwistinterlaceinterthreadintertwistinterweavelockraddleruddletwist
Opposite
unraveluntwineunweave
Broader
join
Narrower
knottangle

More synonyms by meaning

verbspin, wind, or twist together

Similar
twineentwineenlaceinterlacelace
Broader
twisttwinedistort

verbmake lacework by knotting or looping

Similar
tat
Broader
create from raw materialcreate from raw stuff

verbmake a loop in

Similar
loop
Broader
knitentwine
Also see
betwinebraidenlaceentwineinterlaceinterthreadintertwistinterweavelacelockloopraddleruddletattwinetwist

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₁én
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₁n̥tér
  3. Proto-Italic*n̥ter
  4. Latininter
  5. Latininter-
  6. Englishinter-
  7. Englishtwine
  8. Englishintertwine

From inter- + twine.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic اِنْضَفَرَ, تَدَاخَلَ
  • اِنْضَفَرَ (inḍafara)to become twined together
  • تَدَاخَلَ (tadāḵala)to become twined together
  • تَشَابَكَ (tašābaka)to become twined together
Bulgarian преплитам, преплитам се
  • преплитам (preplitam)to twine (things) together
  • преплитам се (preplitam se)to become twined together
Czech proplést, proplést se
  • propléstto twine (things) together
  • proplést seto become twined together
Finnish kietoa, punoa
  • kietoato twine (things) together
  • punoato twine (things) together
  • kietoutuato become twined together
  • punoutuato become twined together
French enchevêtrer, entrelacer
  • enchevêtrerto twine (things) together
  • entrelacerto twine (things) together
  • s'entrelacerto become twined together
German verflechten, sich verflechten
  • verflechtento twine (things) together
  • sich verflechtento become twined together
Italian intrecciare, intrecciarsi
  • intrecciareto twine (things) together
  • intrecciarsito become twined together
Portuguese entrelaçar, trançar
  • entrelaçarto twine (things) together
  • trançarto twine (things) together
  • entrelaçar-seto become twined together
  • trançar-seto become twined together
Russian переплета́ть, переплести́
  • переплета́ть (perepletátʹ)to twine (things) together
  • переплести́ (pereplestí)to twine (things) together
  • сплета́ть (spletátʹ)to twine (things) together
  • сплести́ (splestí)to twine (things) together
  • переплета́ться (perepletátʹsja)to become twined together
  • переплести́сь (pereplestísʹ)to become twined together
  • сплета́ться (spletátʹsja)to become twined together
  • сплести́сь (splestísʹ)to become twined together
Scottish Gaelic eadar-thoinn
  • eadar-thoinnto twine (things) together
Spanish entretejer, entrelazar
  • entretejerto twine (things) together
  • entrelazarto twine (things) together
  • entretejerseto become twined together
  • entrelazarseto become twined together
Swedish sammanflätas
  • sammanflätasto become twined together

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with intertwine

onlinelinedesignsignfinewinedefineminenineofflinepinecombinerefinedeclinedivineinlineKleinassignalignspineeinsteinsteinvinetyne
All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

intertwine. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/intertwine

MLA

“intertwine.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/intertwine. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “intertwine,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/intertwine.

Source: intertwine on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.