1
as in unraveling
to separate the various strands of
it took forever to disentangle the knot
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in freeing
to set free from entanglement or difficulty
the years that it took to disentangle ourselves from our troubles after someone started using our social security numbers
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of disentangling
Our narrator, a gay, happily married father of two disentangling himself from a poly love affair, is—depending on the light—brilliant, self-mythologizing, abject, hopeful, and vulnerable.
—
Literary Hub, 8 Sep. 2025
Brittany Luse is joined by writer and journalist Ana Marie Cox to get into how people are disentangling alcohol from their lives, and the lessons she's learned as a recovering alcoholic.
—Veralyn Williams, NPR, 6 Jan. 2025
Patel has talked about disentangling the FBI’s intelligence-gathering operations — now a core function of the bureau’s mandate — from the rest of its operations.
—Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 1 Dec. 2024
For conditions like obesity, neurodegenerative disease (like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases), and some psychiatric diseases (like depression), disentangling cause from effect is more challenging.
—Keren Landman, Vox, 7 Dec. 2018
Literary Hub, 8 Sep. 2025
Brittany Luse is joined by writer and journalist Ana Marie Cox to get into how people are disentangling alcohol from their lives, and the lessons she's learned as a recovering alcoholic.
—Veralyn Williams, NPR, 6 Jan. 2025
Patel has talked about disentangling the FBI’s intelligence-gathering operations — now a core function of the bureau’s mandate — from the rest of its operations.
—Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 1 Dec. 2024
For conditions like obesity, neurodegenerative disease (like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases), and some psychiatric diseases (like depression), disentangling cause from effect is more challenging.
—Keren Landman, Vox, 7 Dec. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for disentangling
Verb
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What was once envisioned as a vital partnership of the 21st century is fraying—and becoming another source of uncertainty in a world order that seems to be unraveling.—
Vaibhav Vats,
The Atlantic,
10 Sep. 2025
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Now that safety net is unraveling.—
Kimberly Wilson,
Essence,
7 Sep. 2025
Verb
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This keeps your presence consistent while freeing you from daily distractions and unhelpful comparisons.—
Expert Panel®,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
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Safety tips for solo travel Traveling by yourself can feel hugely freeing.—
Lucy Handley,
CNBC,
15 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Immediate gratification often outweighs long-term goals, creating a constant tension between saving and spending.—
Bruce Helmer,
Twin Cities,
13 Sep. 2025
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What began as a school assignment has evolved into a potential life-saving tool for explosive ordnance disposal teams across the Defense Department.—
Kapil Kajal,
Interesting Engineering,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
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With the help of resourceful Marie Kreutz (Franka Potente), Bourne evades capture from the CIA — namely data analyst Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles) and Deputy Director Ward Abbott (Brian Cox) — while untangling his involvement in the deadly Operation Treadstone.—
Declan Gallagher,
Entertainment Weekly,
13 Sep. 2025
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For Glessner Lee, the puzzle of untangling the truth about violent deaths proved irresistible.—
Katie Hafner,
Scientific American,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Still, not every architect involved has found the project’s carte blanche approach liberating.—
Siobhan Reid,
Robb Report,
7 Sep. 2025
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His messaging consistently demonstrates that true success is an inside job, a byproduct of liberating oneself of mental constraints.—
Wyles Daniel,
USA Today,
28 Aug. 2025
Verb
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God bless you for rescuing him.—
Maria Morava,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Sep. 2025
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Some of it is straight-up misinformation, like fake clips of celebrities rescuing people from the Texas floods in July.—
John Ruwitch,
NPR,
28 Aug. 2025
Verb
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The agency announced the reward on Thursday shortly after releasing two images of the person of interest in the investigation.—
Thao Nguyen,
USA Today,
13 Sep. 2025
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The search for Kirk’s assassin entered its third day Friday, with officials releasing new still photos of the person of interest, along with video of the person fleeing the scene after the shooting.—
Filip Timotija,
The Hill,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
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In my experience, redeeming a broken industry requires regaining consumer trust by delivering empathy, transparency, and a process that works for clients, especially in a space that has historically worked against the interests of consumers.—
Brandon Aversano,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
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There isn’t much redeeming value in this music, something Táparo is well aware of.—
Kieran Press-Reynolds,
Pitchfork,
10 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Disentangling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/disentangling. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
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