disentangle
Americanverb (used with or without object)
verb
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to release or become free from entanglement or confusion
-
(tr) to unravel or work out
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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disentanglesimple
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disentanglessimple
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have disentangledperfect
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has disentangledperfect
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am disentanglingprogressive
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are disentanglingprogressive
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is disentanglingprogressive
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have been disentanglingperfect progressive
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has been disentanglingperfect progressive
Past
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disentangledsimple
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had disentangledperfect
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was disentanglingprogressive
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were disentanglingprogressive
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had been disentanglingperfect progressive
Future
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.
And then, he insisted one should disentangle the benefits from the risk, as if that’s even possible.
From Salon • Jun. 22, 2026
"I was talking with other students who believe this technology can be used in swarm robotics -- where small robots can entangle, do a task and then disentangle when they are done," said Pezeshki.
From Science Daily • Jun. 15, 2026
“It took us decades of cooperation to get here and to disentangle all these things is really, really difficult,” said Gaurav Ganguly, head of international economics at Moody’s Analytics in London.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 7, 2026
Third, by demanding that plaintiffs disentangle race from politics, the court asks them to disprove the very structural reality that social network discrimination reveals.
From Slate • May 22, 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.
