UNTANGLING Synonyms: 61 Similar and Opposite Words

untangling

verb

present participle of untangle

as in unraveling

to separate the various strands of gently untangled the baby's hair

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

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 untangling To try Cruz’s favorite technique yourself, start by untangling the cables in your desk drawer. — The Spruce, 20 Aug. 2026 Japan, meanwhile, has spent the past several years untangling another mess. — Daniel Cassady, ARTnews.com, 19 Aug. 2026 Researchers will spend years untangling the two, and policymakers will be reading corridor numbers that mean less every quarter. — Zennon Kapron, Forbes.com, 17 July 2026 Mike walked up and down the boat, untangling lines, re-tying lures, and helping anyone who needed it. — Matthew Every, Outdoor Life, 8 July 2026 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 Because family court dockets are heavily backlogged, critics say a guardian’s recommendation often becomes the final word, despite the grueling and complex nature of the disputes they are tasked with untangling. — Shira Moolten, Sun Sentinel, 4 June 2026 The Seattle Mariners were an out away from untangling a messy fifth inning against the Kansas City Royals on Sunday afternoon. — Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 24 May 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for untangling

Verb

The episode became a turning point, unraveling diplomacy that had largely preserved the informal truce and halted Houthi attacks on Saudi territory.

— Nic Robertson, CNN Money, 10 Sep. 2026
Metalpoint is delicate by comparison with ink, almost weblike; but in both cases, the drawings are unraveling clusters and skeins, with passages both tight and loose.

— Jeffrey Weiss, Artforum, 1 Sep. 2026

Definition of unraveling

Verb

United regularly exploited Everton’s 4-1-4-1 system, sending runners down the side of Garner as the solitary No 6 and freeing Rashford in his mismatch up against Rohl.

— Patrick Boyland, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2026
Her existence is solitary by design, freeing her up to disappear into her studies at all hours of the night, the doors of every institution seemingly always ready to welcome her into its stacks and viewing stations and leather reading chairs.

— Alison Willmore, Vulture, 3 Sep. 2026

Definition of freeing

Verb

Oblivious to her own biases about who Leo is and why, Mallory poses as a therapist keen on saving his life, but uses their faux sessions to mine his story for literary gold.

— Emily St. Martin, Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2026
But Kubiak kept him out of the preseason, saving his first real game action since surgery until the season opener.

— Sam Warren, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2026

Definition of saving

Verb

Cutting Iran off completely from the UAE could deal a serious blow to the Islamic Republic’s economy — but experts say disentangling the pair’s commercial ties could prove difficult.

— semafor.com, semafor.com, 20 Aug. 2026
New characters and backstory details are dropped in before existing loose ends are tied up, resulting in unclear motivations and convoluted layers of subplot that, ultimately, do not prove relevant enough to have been worth disentangling.

— Jared Kaufman, Twin Cities, 9 Aug. 2026

Definition of disentangling

Verb

The vehicle ended up in a driveway where an off-duty firefighter stopped to help, extricating Orowson from the Honda, according to state police.

— Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 31 Aug. 2026
Not that extricating supply chains from China is sufficient in today’s nativist political climate.

— Charlie Campbell, Time, 18 Aug. 2026

Definition of extricating

Verb

And by engaging with these powerful militaries, the group reinforced its self-image as a major regional player that was uniquely capable of liberating the Muslim world from corrupting American and Israeli influence.

— April Longley Alley, Foreign Affairs, 11 Sep. 2026
And yet, liberating writing from the capitalist ethic has its own value.

— M. C. Mah, Literary Hub, 19 Aug. 2026

Definition of liberating

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untangles

untangling

untanned

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“Untangling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/untangling. Accessed 16 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of untangling

verb

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