disentangle

American

[dis-en-tang-guhl] / ˌdɪs ɛnˈtæŋ gəl /

verb (used with or without object)

disentangled, disentangling

to free or become free from entanglement; untangle; extricate (often followed byfrom ).

Synonyms:

disencumber, disembarrass

disentangle British

/ ˌdɪsɪnˈtæŋɡəl /

verb

to release or become free from entanglement or confusion
(tr) to unravel or work out

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

disentanglement noun
disentangler noun

Etymology

Origin of disentangle

First recorded in 1590–1600; dis- ¹ + entangle

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.

Their lives intersect, then disentangle, then return to each other’s orbit again.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 20, 2026

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

"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

People you have a history with, they won’t let you go, and as hard as you might try, you can’t disentangle yourself, can’t set yourself free.

From "The Girl on the Train" by Paula Hawkins

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023