こじれる

こじれる · kojireru · JLPT N1 · noun

to get complicated

🧶 こじ (a twist, as in こじる) + れる (happens by itself): a matter that twists itself into a worse tangle

こじる means to twist or pry something open. The れる ending makes it happen on its own, so a problem left twisted tends to get more tangled over time.