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
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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Having these properties taken away without recourse is effectively unraveling generations of effort.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
24 Apr. 2026
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Meanwhile, at home, the government is unraveling.—
John Whitehead,
Oc Register,
23 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Kerr’s motion offense helped the Warriors become a dynasty by freeing up all-time great jumpshooters Curry and Klay Thompson, but some in the organization believe the offensive attack is too open to 3-point variance, according to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne and Anthony Slater.—
Michael Nowels,
Mercury News,
24 Apr. 2026
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Ultimately, this synergy drives higher ROI while freeing teams from tedious administrative tasks to focus on high-level strategy and end-to-end execution.—
Arthur Zaczkiewicz,
Footwear News,
23 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Lifetime habits of saving and cautious spending are hard to break.—
Terry Savage,
Chicago Tribune,
30 Apr. 2026
-
Skipping payments is not an unintentional consequence of saving for debt settlement, though.—
Angelica Leicht,
CBS News,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Caoodkdk Cable Organizer Instead of spending time untangling your chargers, use this organizer that will neatly store your cords and small devices in one place.—
Rylee Johnston,
Travel + Leisure,
28 Apr. 2026
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While staff were momentarily stunned by the sheer volume of the steal, the suspect took advantage of the distraction, untangling himself from the struggle and bolting for the exit before police could arrive.—
Khloe Quill,
FOXNews.com,
15 Apr. 2026
Verb
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In December 2025, the Khartiia Corps led a counterattack in the Kupiansk direction, liberating several villages north of the city and pushing to the Oskil River.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
15 Apr. 2026
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This election is a profound game-changer, not only for the people, but also the arts, liberating all those who were despised, sidelined or silenced by the corrupt regime.—
Leo Barraclough,
Variety,
13 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The Fort Worth Fire Department was called to the scene to help with extricating four people from the vehicle, according to the statement.—
Lillie Davidson,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
15 Mar. 2026
-
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
Verb
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After releasing albums across genres, both country and dance music, there has been growing speculation that the last project in the trilogy could be a rock album.—
Caché McClay,
USA Today,
29 Apr. 2026
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Fortunately, Dyson has saved the day, releasing a travel version of its popular Supersonic hair dryer.—
Charley Ward,
Condé Nast Traveler,
29 Apr. 2026
Verb
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And ComEd benefited enormously from the arrangement, the opinion noted, getting Madigan’s help in passing key legislation granting a formula rate, investing in electric grid infrastructure and rescuing two underperforming nuclear power plants owned by the utility’s parent company.—
Jason Meisner,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Apr. 2026
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Unlike a pig sanctuary or farm where abandoned or abused pigs live out their last days, the group is focused on rescuing, fostering and finding permanent families for pigs.—
Eric Adler
April 26,
Kansas City Star,
26 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Disentangling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/disentangling. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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