untangle
Americanverb (used with object)
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to bring out of a tangled state; disentangle; unsnarl.
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to straighten out or clear up (anything confused or perplexing).
verb
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to free from a tangled condition
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to free from perplexity or confusion
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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untanglesimple
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untanglessimple
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have untangledperfect
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has untangledperfect
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am untanglingprogressive
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are untanglingprogressive
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is untanglingprogressive
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have been untanglingperfect progressive
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has been untanglingperfect progressive
Past
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untangledsimple
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had untangledperfect
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was untanglingprogressive
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were untanglingprogressive
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had been untanglingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of untangle
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.
See Examples For:
Attribution science seeks to untangle how much human-caused climate change shaped a specific heat wave, storm or flood, and its findings now shape litigation and policy.
From Barron's ● Jul. 15, 2026
No need to untangle the complex hypocrisy here — it’s all laid out in arrows and diagrams.
From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026
But something in there was broken, which a senior engineer already behind on a deadline had to untangle, while Robin struggled to explain.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 12, 2026
The authors found that early squamate evolution involved a great deal of anatomical experimentation and convergent evolution, which helps explain why the earliest snake story has been so difficult to untangle from fossils alone.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 24, 2026
I untangle myself out of Chris’s arms and crawl to the foot of the bed.
From "The Hate U Give" by Angie Thomas
In writing about the ways folks hold together during difficult times, Trías untangles the myths and realities of resilience.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2024
"This work untangles some of the secrets and shows how N-terminal acetylation shape individual protein fate," Thomas Arnesen concludes.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 27, 2023
"It is hard for the government to shore up economic growth unless it untangles the complex knot of weak confidence," said Gary Ng, senior economist at Natixis Corporate and Investment Bank.
From Reuters ● Jul. 31, 2023
The novel tells the story of a Texas-born working man unwittingly becoming a detective as he untangles a mystery that takes him to L.A.’s Black, white and Latino neighborhoods.
From New York Times ● May 17, 2023
There's a storm in her eyes, but she forces a smile and gently untangles her fingers from mine.
From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir
When Emanuel fell ill in 1988, Emanuel’s son Jim and Jim’s wife Trudy stepped in, untangled the tax mess, and guided the company out of bankruptcy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 9, 2026
In a sense, then, the alliance is held together by complex supply chains and contractual agreements that could not possibly be untangled overnight.
From BBC ● Mar. 5, 2025
His patience was steady as I cut cords and untangled myself.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 27, 2024
Pospisil landed on top of him, the players untangled themselves and play continued without a penalty call.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 4, 2024
“Wait,” Trip said, and gently untangled her hair from her collar.
From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng
Jenée Desmond-Harris offers advice on untangling this knotty disagreement.
From Slate ● Jul. 21, 2026
Taking a stand will involve you untangling years of conditioning.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 27, 2026
A new study introduces a genome-wide approach for untangling these complex genetic histories.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 19, 2026
A big piece of Rose’s reorganization plan involves untangling WPP’s unwieldy operating structure, the result of a decadeslong shopping spree in which founder Martin Sorrell bought hundreds of agencies globally.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 2026
Gran starts untangling my bangs, which are about chin length.
From "If I Stay" by Gayle Forman
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.
