as in to liberate
to set free from entanglement or difficulty you've woven such a web of lies that it's hard to see how you can extricate yourself now

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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How does the verb extricate differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of extricate are disembarrass, disencumber, disentangle, and untangle. While all these words mean "to free from what binds or holds back," extricate implies the use of care or ingenuity in freeing from a difficult position or situation.

extricated himself from financial difficulties

When might disembarrass be a better fit than extricate?

The meanings of disembarrass and extricate largely overlap; however, disembarrass suggests a release from something that impedes or hinders.

disembarrassed herself of her advisers

When could disencumber be used to replace extricate?

Although the words disencumber and extricate have much in common, disencumber implies a release from something that clogs or weighs down.

an article disencumbered of jargon

How are the words disentangle and untangle related as synonyms of extricate?

Both disentangle and untangle suggest painstaking separation of a thing from other things.

disentangling fact from fiction
untangle a web of deceit

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 extricate Emergency crews extricated the man from the truck and transported him to a hospital. George Avalos, Mercury News, 29 Sep. 2025 Vargas was trapped and had to be extricated by first responders. Susan Gill Vardon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Sep. 2025 Rotert says one person had to be extricated from the vehicle. Fox19 Staff, Cincinnati Enquirer, 7 Sep. 2025 The film begins the night of Judy’s birth, in 1964, when a young Ed and Lorraine (Orion Smith and Madison Lawlor, respectively) extricate themselves from a possible exorcism of a bizarre oversized mirror, race to the hospital and revive a dead Judy through the power of prayer. Gregory Nussen, Deadline, 3 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for extricate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for extricate
Verb
  • That was the theater of ecstasy that would liberate him from the body.
    Mark Schilling, Variety, 29 Oct. 2025
  • Millions remain far from liberated from economic pressure, and few of us feel burdened by an excess of free time.
    Arianna Huffington, Fortune, 24 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Thuram drags Tchouameni into the space on the left and Koopmeiners runs towards Cambiaso, freeing up Yildiz to receive in space.
    Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025
  • Mele was freed when police linked Locci and Lo Bianco's murders to other killings that had happened when he was incarcerated.
    Emily Blackwood, PEOPLE, 25 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Hamida discovers the newborn still attached to her corpse by umbilical cord and saves him, breastfeeding and caring for the infant as her own.
    JSTOR Daily, JSTOR Daily, 30 Oct. 2025
  • Score an extra 20% off both the Queen and King sizes and save over $100 on the durable quilt.
    Mariana Best, Better Homes & Gardens, 30 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • To fully disentangle them would set both sides — and the whole world — back decades.
    Peter Leyden, Big Think, 7 Oct. 2025
  • Claude can’t disentangle her years-ago affair with Mathias from feelings of self-recrimination and guilt, and seesaws between anger and seduction.
    Sheri Linden, HollywoodReporter, 9 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Active news consumers were much more likely to be politically engaged, while passive news consumers were much more likely to be disengaged or moderately engaged in politics.
    Max Tani, semafor.com, 27 Oct. 2025
  • Rogé agreed that Gen Z is not disengaged but discerning.
    Melissa Fleur Afshar, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • The company says customers must mention the offer at checkout to redeem in-store, and redeeming online requires a Moe Rewards account.
    Gabe Hauari, USA Today, 29 Oct. 2025
  • But the real, urgent work ahead of them was to redeem the losses slavery had wrought.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • The hikers were rescued by the summit’s train, the Mount Washington Cog Railway, according to a Facebook PSA from Mount Washington Cog Railway assistant general manager Andrew Vilaine.
    Charna Flam, PEOPLE, 28 Oct. 2025
  • These achievements made the United States the political model of the liberal state, which displaced the monarchical dynasties of Europe in the nineteenth century, then rescued Western civilization from the totalitarian despotisms of Germany, Japan, and the Soviet Union in the twentieth.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • The Netflix series has plenty of narrative threads to untangle in a potential third season.
    Allison DeGrushe, Entertainment Weekly, 28 Oct. 2025
  • This is your chance to untangle your life and experience free flowing cleaning with the Dyson V8 Absolute cordless vacuum.
    PC Magazine, PC Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Extricate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/extricate. Accessed 2 Nov. 2025.

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