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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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But tensions between the factions and the two Gulf nations appear to be unraveling the coalition, threatening to throw them into outright conflict and further tear apart the Arab world’s poorest country.—
Ahmed Al-Haj,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Jan. 2026
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Mary Bronstein’s film stars Rose Byrne as a Long Island mom unraveling while dealing with her daughter’s mysterious stomach ailment.—
Nate Jones,
Vulture,
2 Jan. 2026
Verb
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In a season when the team knew kickoffs would become more valuable because of touchback rule changes, the Chiefs were behind the curve on kickoff placement and freeing up their returners in the open field.—
Jesse Newell,
New York Times,
7 Jan. 2026
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IntBot’s commercial deployments now extend this social intelligence to hotels and other public spaces, freeing human staff from routine tasks.—
Jijo Malayil,
Interesting Engineering,
6 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Kendricks wound up making the game-saving play by breaking up the fourth-down pass to Goedert.—
Chris Biderman,
Sacbee.com,
12 Jan. 2026
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This nws in not just about saving the tunnel project, but is also an interesting showcase of what can be achieved with a little bit of lateral thinking and planning.—
Christopher McFadden,
Interesting Engineering,
11 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The procedural stories are simple whodunnits with a New York twist—Murder on Broadway has Hizzoner untangling the on-stage shooting at the closing of a long-running musical, for example.—
James Folta,
Literary Hub,
6 Nov. 2025
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Hanging ornaments with care can be one of the highlights of the holiday season, but untangling wads of string lights is far less enjoyable.—
Maggie Horton,
PEOPLE,
22 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Liberation is funny, poignant and, yes, liberating in its expression of the very human need for justice and freedom in an era when those words have been co-opted by forces who value only self-enrichment.—
Greg Evans,
Deadline,
31 Dec. 2025
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In 1943, as the Red Army began liberating Soviet territories from German occupation, the committee was inundated by letters from surviving and returning Jews.—
Wendy Z. Goldman,
The Conversation,
1 Dec. 2025
Verb
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The Minneapolis Federation of Educators said agents deployed tear gas and detained an educator before releasing them.—
Rebecca Santana,
Fortune,
10 Jan. 2026
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Camacho gamely snatched one from the water, showing me its extraordinary teeth before releasing it again.—
Stanley Stewart,
Travel + Leisure,
10 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Understanding which plants are worth rescuing and which to skip is crucial to successful gardening.—
SJ McShane,
Martha Stewart,
8 Jan. 2026
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Stephen and Kristi stand by their stellar reputation in the community, with more than 20 years of experience legally breeding, raising, and rescuing German Shepherds.—
J.D. Miles,
CBS News,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Abel got his first taste of business at a young age, collecting, cleaning, and redeeming empty soda bottles for just 5 cents a piece.—
Emma Burleigh,
Fortune,
5 Jan. 2026
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Youthful exuberance remains one of their most redeeming traits.—
Joel Lorenzi,
New York Times,
5 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Disentangling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/disentangling. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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