Tousled, [ˈtaʊzəld], is an English verb that describes the disheveled or untidy appearance of hair. The spelling of tousled may appear unusual, as it contains the unusual combination of letters "ou" and "s." This unusual blend of letters, however, is commonly present in many English words of French origin. The IPA phonetic transcription of [ˈtaʊzəld] makes it easy to understand the accentual and syllabic stresses in the word, making it easier to pronounce correctly, even for non-native speakers of English.
Tousled is an adjective that describes the unkempt or disordered appearance of something, typically referring to hair or a person's overall look. When hair is tousled, it appears messy, unruly, or tousled, usually as a result of being uncombed or disheveled. The word "tousle" comes from the Middle English word "tousel," which means to mix up, disorder, or tangle.
When used to describe a person's look, a tousled appearance implies a casual, relaxed, or slightly chaotic style, often seen as fashionable or effortless. It is commonly associated with bedhead, a natural, just-rolled-out-of-bed appearance. Tousled hair can also be intentionally created by using styling techniques such as teasing, using texturizing products, or scrunching the hair with the hands.
Tousled is not limited to hair alone; it can also be used to describe the disorderly or ruffled appearance of fabric or objects. For instance, if clothing or bedding has a tousled appearance, it means they appear crumpled, wrinkled, or disarranged, perhaps as if they were not properly straightened or smoothed out. This term is often used in fashion and design contexts to describe a more relaxed, effortless, or bohemian aesthetic. Overall, the term "tousled" signifies a disheveled appearance, whether applied to hair, personal appearance, or objects, while often carrying connotations of charm, informality, and casualness.
* The statistics data for these misspellings percentages are collected from over 15,411,110 spell check sessions on www.spellchecker.net from Jan 2010 - Jun 2012.
The word "tousled" has its origins in Middle English. It can be traced back to the Old English verb "tūsle", which means to handle or pull about roughly. The term later evolved into "touselen" in Middle English, meaning to disarrange or mess up. Ultimately, it gave rise to the term "tousled" in its current form, which refers to hair that is disheveled or untidy.