DISENTANGLING Synonyms: 61 Similar and Opposite Words

disentangling

verb

present participle of disentangle

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

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

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of disentangling The fundamental goal of the 1787 Constitution was to establish a republican form of government — and that meant disentangling the traditional powers of the monarch and placing them in different branches of government. — David French, Mercury News, 3 Mar. 2026 Embedded in a patriarchal family within an oppressive society, Mrie faces the challenge of disentangling herself from both. — Los Angeles Times, 24 Feb. 2026 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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for disentangling

Verb

This ambiguity doesn’t feel entirely intentional, but at least Paksoy’s performance makes her character’s unraveling feel nervy and thrillingly palpable.

— Beatrice Loayza, Variety, 11 July 2026
Latvia’s Ostapenko is playing with less pressure, but is just as prone to unraveling on court as Sabalenka has been of late.

— Ava Wallace, New York Times, 2 July 2026

Definition of unraveling

Verb

The Tigers passed on adding Go, who has spent time in the minors with the Miami Marlins, San Diego Padres and Tigers since 2024, freeing him up to join the Twins.

— Dan Hayes, New York Times, 6 July 2026
The flywheel does not need to be replaced every 3-5 years and can be installed outdoors, freeing up more space and cash for compute.

— Ameya Paleja, Interesting Engineering, 3 July 2026

Definition of freeing

Verb

The state’s border protection stations, dog teams and high risk pest exclusion programs show long-term success, preventing invasive insects from entering and establishing in California, while saving the state hundreds of millions of dollars.

— Lizzie Kane July 9, Sacbee.com, 9 July 2026
Many credit Latvala for saving the Republicans from oblivion by providing party leaders the data tools, expertise and technology needed to overthrow Democrats and launch a reign of dominance that continues today.

— Michael Van Sickler, Miami Herald, 9 July 2026

Definition of saving

Verb

So when a diabetic patient develops gastroparesis, untangling whether the drug or the disease is responsible is genuinely difficult.

— Ryan Brennan, Charlotte Observer, 13 June 2026
Navy excels at untangling human emotions and picking through them without being didactic or moralistic.

— Dash Lewis, Pitchfork, 10 June 2026

Definition of untangling

Verb

Shedding infrastructure is liberating only if there's a real relationship or service advantage underneath it.

— Mushfig Aliyev, Forbes.com, 8 July 2026
Spirits of independence can be found throughout the week starting with two progressive and liberating comedy shows on Sunday, Joke Sistas and Comedy Bang!

— Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 27 June 2026

Definition of liberating

Verb

But when specifically asked whether any Americans have been exposed to Ebola, and whether the government is planning on extricating them from the DRC, the CDC’s incident manager, Satish Pillai, did not answer the questions.

— Helen Branswell, STAT, 17 May 2026
Part of the experiment involves Mesler willingly extricating himself from Kordansky’s gallery roster.

— Daniel Cassady, ARTnews.com, 14 May 2026

Definition of extricating

Verb

Then the group will take a nice – and well-deserved – break for a little bit after their nearly year-long tour and releasing music in between.

— Laura Sirikul, Forbes.com, 11 July 2026
Since releasing his debut album, Jay-Z has racked up 25 Grammy wins as well as several historic firsts for a rapper, including his induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame (in 2017) and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (2021).

— Caché McClay, USA Today, 11 July 2026

Definition of releasing

Verb

The crew took part in rescuing a 47-year-old man who was pulled out of the rubble eight days after the quakes hit, lifting the spirits and morale of rescuers who up until then were primarily uncovering human remains.

— Seamus Bozeman Follow, Los Angeles Times, 7 July 2026
Members of the Perth Amboy Fire Department Marine Unit and FMBA Local 58/258, chapters of a firefighting union, also assisted in rescuing the firefighters from the channel.

— Thao Nguyen, USA Today, 7 July 2026

Definition of rescuing

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disentangles

disentangling

disenthrall

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“Disentangling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/disentangling. Accessed 17 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of disentangling

verb

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