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
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
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
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Meanwhile interest rate-cut bets are unraveling across developing Asia.—
Chris Anstey,
Bloomberg,
6 Mar. 2026
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On the doorstep of a pivotal, final week and with its season in serious danger of unraveling, USC basketball’s leading scorer has been dismissed from the program.—
Assistant Sports Editor,
Los Angeles Times,
2 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Ryan Poles was busy this week freeing up salary-cap space.—
Sean Hammond,
Chicago Tribune,
8 Mar. 2026
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Those softer skills may become even more valuable as AI becomes more prevalent, freeing up time to spend on deeper relationships and more clients.—
Allison Schrager,
Twin Cities,
8 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Rising commodity prices and disruptions to global supply chains sparked by the war in Iran threatened the delivery of life-saving aid, the UN argued.—
Jeronimo Gonzalez,
semafor.com,
12 Mar. 2026
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Global Entry allows preapproved, low-risk travelers to use expedited kiosks -- for a fee -- when entering the United States from abroad, saving them time at airports and other ports of entry.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
12 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Creditors confronting both foreign trustees and secured interests must evaluate the cost of untangling each layer.—
Ascend Agency,
Chicago Tribune,
12 Mar. 2026
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Rebecca Sheppard specializes in untangling other people’s financial messes.—
Joel Jacobs,
CNN Money,
11 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The process is prescriptive, but the effect is liberating.—
Emma Madden,
Los Angeles Times,
2 Mar. 2026
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Both were premised on the idea of frictionless ease, liberating their users from outmoded toils.—
Jake Lundberg,
The Atlantic,
19 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The alternating timelines force the writers to do a lot of strained connection-building that, around midseason, ceases to be effective; the makers of Scarpetta were very smart about joining the murders narratively, but much less smart about extricating themselves creatively.—
Daniel Fienberg,
HollywoodReporter,
10 Mar. 2026
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In Delhi, there was a growing awareness by middle powers of the need to build their own AI capability — whether in training their own models, designing their own chips, or extricating themselves from the convenient but risky grip of Silicon Valley software giants.—
Billy Perrigo,
Time,
20 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Last year, more than a third of artists making $10,000 on the platform in royalties started by self-releasing their music through independent distributors.—
Cerys Davies,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Mar. 2026
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Images show a diffuse coma and faint dust tail created as sunlight heats the comet's ices, releasing gas and dust into space.—
Samantha Mathewson,
Space.com,
11 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Within two minutes, Phoenix police arrived at the scene, taking the woman into custody and rescuing the child.—
Sydney Page The Washington Post,
Arkansas Online,
8 Mar. 2026
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Animal Services asked for help either fostering, adopting or rescuing the dogs to free up kennel space.—
Matthew Rodriguez,
CBS News,
7 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Disentangling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/disentangling. Accessed 14 Mar. 2026.
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