1
as in unraveling
to separate the various strands of
gently untangled the baby's hair
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in freeing
to set free from entanglement or difficulty
I was finally able to untangle myself from my credit problems
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of untangling
Creditors confronting both foreign trustees and secured interests must evaluate the cost of untangling each layer.
—
Ascend Agency, Chicago Tribune, 12 Mar. 2026
Rebecca Sheppard specializes in untangling other people’s financial messes.
—Joel Jacobs, CNN Money, 11 Mar. 2026
There is nothing glamorous about arriving at your hotel and untangling a nest of cords.
—Chaise Sanders, Travel + Leisure, 7 Mar. 2026
The layers of deception and betrayal will feel deeply familiar to anyone who spent three seasons untangling Stephen’s lies.
—Hanna Wickes, Miami Herald, 20 Feb. 2026
Gerima continued to explain that untangling film production from its violent colonial past was a constant battle.
—Zac Ntim, Deadline, 16 Feb. 2026
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
So that's going to be the hardest part about this game — untangling this five-dimensional web of connections that go back 20 years to Colby and Jenna and Stephenie.
—Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Jan. 2026
The podcast is a fascinating artifact, the tale of a woman still untangling her role as both victim and victimizer.
—Jillian Steinhauer, New Yorker, 23 Jan. 2026
Ascend Agency, Chicago Tribune, 12 Mar. 2026
Rebecca Sheppard specializes in untangling other people’s financial messes.
—Joel Jacobs, CNN Money, 11 Mar. 2026
There is nothing glamorous about arriving at your hotel and untangling a nest of cords.
—Chaise Sanders, Travel + Leisure, 7 Mar. 2026
The layers of deception and betrayal will feel deeply familiar to anyone who spent three seasons untangling Stephen’s lies.
—Hanna Wickes, Miami Herald, 20 Feb. 2026
Gerima continued to explain that untangling film production from its violent colonial past was a constant battle.
—Zac Ntim, Deadline, 16 Feb. 2026
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
So that's going to be the hardest part about this game — untangling this five-dimensional web of connections that go back 20 years to Colby and Jenna and Stephenie.
—Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Jan. 2026
The podcast is a fascinating artifact, the tale of a woman still untangling her role as both victim and victimizer.
—Jillian Steinhauer, New Yorker, 23 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for untangling
Verb
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Meanwhile interest rate-cut bets are unraveling across developing Asia.—
Chris Anstey,
Bloomberg,
6 Mar. 2026
-
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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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
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Embedded in a patriarchal family within an oppressive society, Mrie faces the challenge of disentangling herself from both.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
24 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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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
Cite this Entry
“Untangling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/untangling. Accessed 15 Mar. 2026.
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