tousle
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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Rhandall and John always took a few minutes to grab and tousle Syd.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2025
"You tousle its mane and pull its ears, but all the time you’re thinking, those claws, those claws, those claws."
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2024
Late-night host Jimmy Fallon has tried to live down his famed hair tousle interview of the then-candidate Trump.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 9, 2020
With his Little Prince notebook and his 2am tousle, he could still pass for a student, even at 42, with a shelf full of silverware.
From The Guardian ● May 10, 2019
“This one’s my boy,” he said to Sophie and me, reaching up to tousle Francis’s hair.
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
The man in this mug shot gets hives if he even thinks about loosening his tie; he passes out if someone tousles his hair.
From Slate ● Aug. 24, 2023
She’s a brunette with a slight frame who rarely tousles her hair or wears heavy eyeliner.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 2, 2022
Allen replies with a good-natured laugh and tousles the boy’s blond hair.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 21, 2017
He tousles her wild hair, so like Devi's, and says to her, as he has before, "She has a lot of responsibilities, and it's hard for her to think about other things, to relax."
From The Verge ● Aug. 29, 2015
Lenny even takes the meatloaf out of the oven for my mom and tousles Bryce’s hair when Bryce shows up to get his plate of meatloaf.
From "The Benefits of Being an Octopus" by Ann Braden
With her distinctive husky voice, tousled mane of blonde hair and black eyeliner, Tyler was instantly recognisable as the queen of the 1980s power ballad.
From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026
Troye Sivan channeled photographer Robert Mapplethorpe in tousled hair and designer jeans.
From Salon ● May 6, 2026
Expect to see a lot of pencil skirts, artfully tucked-in white button downs and tousled blond hair this summer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 25, 2026
Bardot starred in nearly 50 films including And God Created Woman and Contempt, setting fashion trends with her tousled blonde hair and bold eyeliner, before becoming the model for Marianne, the personified symbol of France.
From BBC ● Jan. 4, 2026
This time she pulled at her father’s earlobes and tousled his hair.
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
“Eighth grade isn’t so bad, is it, Son?” he said, tousling the boy’s hair.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 22, 2026
Unlike oil-drum-style alternatives nearby, some had triangular tops with tiny, circular openings that would deter rummaging and prevent wind from tousling the garbage.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 16, 2021
Then, yes, dude was snubbed, even after going on an apology tour for tousling Donald Trump’s hair.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 12, 2018
Merely perfect: sunny, with a high of 81 and a tousling breeze.
From New York Times ● Jun. 20, 2014
She turned, wiping her eyes furiously, and stormed up the beach, the breeze tousling her hair.
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
Vocabulary lists containing tousle
Ender's Game
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Uglies
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"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" by James Thurber
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