DISENTANGLING Synonyms: 61 Similar and Opposite Words

disentangling

verb

present participle of disentangle

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

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

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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 disentangling 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, 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 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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for disentangling

Verb

Now researchers are using advanced imaging technology to look at the narwhal’s tusk in unprecedented detail—studying it in the hope of unraveling some of its mysteries.

— Jackie Flynn Mogensen, Scientific American, 18 Aug. 2026
Alex Cooper seems intent on unraveling some of the current relationships that have helped underpin her production company, Unwell.

— Brian Steinberg, Variety, 16 Aug. 2026

Definition of unraveling

Verb

And businesses may be seriously underestimating the value of freeing up their people to have new ideas.

— Barnaby Lashbrooke, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026
But by funding facilities and administrative costs normally borne by the schools, states are freeing universities to use their own dollars for other purposes.

— David A. Lieb, Fortune, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of freeing

Verb

The narrow, 50-mile artificial waterway cuts through the Central American country, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and saving time and fuel along the shorter transit route.

— Hira Humayun, CNN Money, 21 Aug. 2026
There, emergency personnel performed life-saving measures on 20-year-old Benjamin Speidel, the release said.

— Eleanor Nash, Kansas City Star, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of saving

Verb

And yet, liberating writing from the capitalist ethic has its own value.

— M. C. Mah, Literary Hub, 19 Aug. 2026
For Russian propagandists, the Azov Brigade, which began as a nationalist militia, was shorthand for the supposedly fascist influences from which Vladimir Putin claimed to be liberating Ukraine.

— Joshua Yaffa, New Yorker, 10 Aug. 2026

Definition of liberating

Verb

Not that extricating supply chains from China is sufficient in today’s nativist political climate.

— Charlie Campbell, Time, 18 Aug. 2026
After largely extricating itself from Iraq in 2011, the United States had to send troops back in 2014 to fight the Islamic State, or ISIS, which emerged from the post-invasion chaos.

— Michael Fuchs, Foreign Affairs, 6 Aug. 2026

Definition of extricating

Verb

Marked by high highs and low lows, the path of Men at Work was brisk, with the group releasing three albums in about four years before breaking up in 1986.

— Jim Ryan, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2026
If Pyburn did attempt to go back to college without the Buccaneers releasing him, Tampa Bay would retain his NFL rights.

— Saad Yousuf, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2026

Definition of releasing

Verb

Blakeman also said first responders were rescuing people from vehicles trapped in the floodwaters.

— Adi Guajardo, CBS News, 21 Aug. 2026
Authorities said their immediate focus was on rescuing anyone still trapped inside and investigating the cause of the fire, which was not immediately known.

— ABC News, ABC News, 19 Aug. 2026

Definition of rescuing

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disentangles

disentangling

disenthrall

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“Disentangling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/disentangling. Accessed 25 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of disentangling

verb

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