disentangle

verb dis·en·tan·gle \ ˌdis-in-ˈtaŋ-gəl \

|Updated on: 14 Jul 2018

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Examples: disentangle in a Sentence

Definition of disentangle

transitive verb

: to free from entanglement : unravel

intransitive verb

: to become disentangled

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disentanglement

play \-mənt\ noun

See disentangle defined for English-language learners

See disentangle defined for kids

Examples of disentangle in a Sentence

it took forever to disentangle the knot
the years that it took to disentangle ourselves from our troubles after someone started using our social security numbers

Recent Examples of disentangle from the Web

Ellison’s death is an opportunity to disentangle his personal flaws from his lasting achievement with the aid of historical perspective.

— jeet heer, The New Republic, "Harlan Ellison’s Death Raises a #MeToo Quandary," 2 July 2018
Although Monday was his first day on the job, Pearlstine in 2005 played a role in an effort to disentangle The Times from Tribune Co.

— meg james, latimes.com, "New Los Angeles Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong names veteran journalist Norman Pearlstine executive editor," 19 June 2018
Today, many of those banks are racing to disentangle themselves from En+ as the effects of the latest wave of U.S. sanctions sweeps across the global finance industry.

— max colchester and margot patrick, WSJ, "Global Banks Face Chill of Russian Sanctions," 12 Apr. 2018
Now, well into the 21st century, the challenge is how to disentangle and even dismantle those ideas while salvaging the arch as a cultural object.

— philip kennicott, chicagotribune.com, "50 years later, the St. Louis Arch emerges with a new name and a skeptical view of western expansion," 26 June 2018
So next, Toth’s colleagues, including zoologist and senior author Stuart Parsons, hope to disentangle the connection between song syllable and bat size.

— katherine j. wu, Smithsonian, "Like Birds, Some Bats Warble to Woo Their Mates," 13 June 2018
Much of the film takes place in flashback, as Jennifer tries to disentangle her subjective memories from objective reality.

— anna silman, The Cut, "The Tale and the Truth About 13-Year-Old Girls," 25 May 2018
Johnston has been using his lunch breaks from a job at a calling center to look for an attorney to help him disentangle from the criminal charges from the arrest on Michigan Avenue.

— maya dukmasova, Chicago Reader, "News / Politics / Transportation Singer welcomed by America's Got Talent—but not the CTA," 12 June 2018
Each of FLCL’s six episodes are so packed with details, rapid-fire jokes and animation shifts that the show practically demands repeat viewings to disentangle the story from the noise.

— stephen scaife, The Verge, "Cult favorite anime FLCL is back with new episodes — but 15 years later, the original still shines," 2 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'disentangle.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of disentangle

1598

in the meaning defined at transitive sense

See Words from the same year

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disentangle Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of disentangle

extricate, disentangle, untangle, disencumber, disembarrass mean to free from what binds or holds back. extricate implies the use of care or ingenuity in freeing from a difficult position or situation.