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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Winning Over the Rink Around the same time, Youngblood was grooming hockey dad Eric Perardi, the coach and real-estate developer, who was quietly unraveling amid a bitter divorce.—
Matthew Bremner,
Rolling Stone,
11 Feb. 2026
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Byrne commits fully to a woman unraveling in real time, turning psychological collapse into something uncomfortably familiar.—
Clayton Davis,
Variety,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Aljorna was able to slip out of his jacket, freeing himself from the agent’s grasp, and ran to his cousin, Goetz said.—
Emma Tucker,
CNN Money,
15 Feb. 2026
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The lights in the hallways are on, freeing the staff from the need to shuffle around with flashlights.—
Simon Shuster,
The Atlantic,
12 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Now, after a life-saving sonogram, Glanville has revealed that a ruptured pair of breast implants is the true culprit behind her condition.—
Ryan Coleman,
Entertainment Weekly,
19 Feb. 2026
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But that spirit of collaboration might be much harder to forge today, and a body tasked with saving Social Security before 2031 would face significant challenges that the commission of the early ‘80s did not.—
Tristan Bove,
Fortune,
19 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Gerima continued to explain that untangling film production from its violent colonial past was a constant battle.—
Zac Ntim,
Deadline,
16 Feb. 2026
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At other points, Siegal turned to Epstein for advice on everything from a dispute over her inheritance to untangling her personal finances to dealing with a rival to her publicity business.—
Brent Lang,
Variety,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
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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
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For the determined, liberating people’s cars from the ice can mean a quick source of income.—
Clio Chang,
Curbed,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The unit's soldiers train to operate in frigid conditions, like driving special cold weather vehicles and extricating themselves from icy waters.—
Cybele Mayes-Osterman,
USA Today,
20 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The company is also releasing matching green and red versions of its $129 Pixel Buds 2a earbuds.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
18 Feb. 2026
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When police have acted on leads — searching homes and questioning individuals before releasing them —livestreamers and some media outlets have been quick to share the information.—
Hannah Fry,
Los Angeles Times,
18 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Under the tutelage of Professor Charles Xavier (James McAvoy), her telekinetic powers become difficult to control after she is struck by solar flares while rescuing the space shuttle Endeavor.—
David Faris,
TheWeek,
16 Feb. 2026
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Their technician even falls over after rescuing Andersson with a replacement ski.—
Sean Nevin,
NBC news,
14 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Disentangling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/disentangling. Accessed 22 Feb. 2026.
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