disentangle
Americanverb (used with or without object)
verb
-
to release or become free from entanglement or confusion
-
(tr) to unravel or work out
Other Word Forms
- disentanglement noun
- disentangler noun
Etymology
Origin of disentangle
Explanation
When you disentangle something, you free it from a snarl or tangle. If you have long hair and pierced ears, you've probably had to disentangle an earring from a curl of hair. Something that becomes tangled or twisted needs someone to disentangle it — you might disentangle your kitten from a length of yarn, or disentangle your jacket from a thorny bush when you're hiking through the woods. You can also disentangle someone figuratively, helping them get out of an uncomfortable or difficult situation. Tangle is at the heart of disentangle, from the fourteenth century word tagilen, "to involve in a difficult situation."
Vocabulary lists containing disentangle
The Miracle Worker
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James and the Giant Peach
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Swindle
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Teenagers who listen to aggressive music differ from those who don’t in ways that are hard to observe and harder to disentangle.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 2, 2026
But these latest emails will once again raise questions over whether they can disentangle themselves from their parents' mess.
From BBC • Feb. 1, 2026
Those who study the root causes of crime say that it may take years, if not decades, to disentangle the causes of the pandemic-era surge in violence and the precipitous drop that has followed.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 8, 2026
"Investigating such rare familial clusters offers a rare window into the polygenic inheritance of resilience and may help disentangle the genetic and epigenetic contributions to extreme longevity," notes Dr. de Castro.
From Science Daily • Jan. 8, 2026
He jerked the reins, his eyes twinkling, as more cries came up from the irate inmates as they tried to disentangle their bodies in the carriage and settle themselves on the seats once more.
From "Lyddie" by Katherine Paterson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
