disentangle

verb

dis·​en·​tan·​gle ˌdis-in-ˈtaŋ-gəl 

disentangled; disentangling; disentangles

transitive verb

: to free from entanglement : unravel

intransitive verb

: to become disentangled

disentanglement

ˌdis-in-ˈtaŋ-gəl-mənt 

noun

Synonyms of disentangle

• unravel

Choose the Right Synonym for 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.

extricated himself from financial difficulties

disentangle and untangle suggest painstaking separation of a thing from other things.

disentangling fact from fiction

untangle a web of deceit

disencumber implies a release from something that clogs or weighs down.

an article disencumbered of jargon

disembarrass suggests a release from something that impedes or hinders.

disembarrassed herself of her advisers

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 on the Web

No Spotify or Netflix exists for literature, where (other than with some exceptions, such as for vinyl collectors) the medium and the message are more easily disentangled, but the codex has endured for two millennia whereas the CD and the DVD lasted barely two decades. —Literary Hub, 24 Nov. 2025

People will start to disentangle that seven-stock bundle and start thinking about it given a specific situation. —Hugh Leask, CNBC, 18 Nov. 2025

Recently, sources said, the 2AM principals had stepped back from their relationship with the studio, working to financially disentangle themselves. —Matt Grobar, Deadline, 12 Nov. 2025

Although the results are not yet for certain, if and when they are shown to be then the next step will be trying to disentangle all the sources of these ambient gravitational waves. —Keith Cooper, Space.com, 15 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1598, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Rhymes for disentangle

• entangle
• quadrangle
• triangle
• untangle
• angle
• bangle
• dangle
• jangle
• mangle
• strangle
• tangle
• wrangle

Kids Definition

disentangle

verb

dis·​en·​tan·​gle ˌdis-ᵊn-ˈtaŋ-gəl 

: to straighten out : untangle

disentanglement

-mənt 

noun