Entwined means twisted or woven together so that two or more things become tightly connected and difficult to separate. Picture two vines growing up a fence, wrapping around each other as they climb: they become entwined, their stems spiraling together until you can barely tell where one plant ends and the other begins.

The word often describes physical things that wind around each other. Dancers might perform with their arms entwined. A kitten playing with yarn might leave the threads hopelessly entwined. Tree roots growing close together become entwined underground, tangling into a complex knot.

But entwined also describes ideas, stories, or lives that become closely connected. Two friends whose families know each other, who share the same interests, and who spend most of their time together might have entwined lives. In a mystery novel, two plot lines might become entwined when you discover they’re connected. When historians talk about how the history of two countries is entwined, they mean those countries have influenced each other so much over time that you can’t fully understand one without knowing about the other.

The word suggests something more permanent and complex than just touching or connecting. Things that are entwined are woven together in a way that makes them hard to pull apart.