Terribly gentle and hopelessly trapped (9)

I believe the answer is:

entangled

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'hopelessly trapped' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both to do with contact as well as being past participle verbs.
Perhaps they are linked in a way I don't understand?

'terribly gentle and' is the wordplay.
'terribly' indicates anagramming the letters.
'gentle'+'and'='gentleand'
'gentleand' is an anagram of 'ENTANGLED'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for entangled that I've seen before include "Involved in complications" , "caught" , "snarled up" , "Intertwined; entrapped" , "Confusedly twisted" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.

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