extricate

[ek-stri-keyt]

verb (used with object)

extricated, extricating 

1. to free or release from entanglement; disengage.

   to extricate someone from a dangerous situation.

   Synonyms: liberate, deliver, rescue, loose, loose

2. to liberate (gas) from combination, as in a chemical process.

extricate

/ ˈɛkstrɪˌkeɪt /

verb

1. to remove or free from complication, hindrance, or difficulty; disentangle

Other Word Forms

• extrication noun
• unextricated adjective
• extricable adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of extricate¹

First recorded in 1605–15; from Latin extricātus (past participle of extricāre ), equivalent to ex- ex- ¹ + tric(ae) “perplexities” + -ātus -ate ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of extricate¹

C17: from Latin extrīcāre to disentangle, from _ex- ¹ + trīcae trifles, vexations

Example Sentences

“How well I know the pain of a broken heart,” the widow murmured, extricating her hands from the admiral’s.

Read more on Literature

“My advice is to not get tangled up with the law to begin with. Once you do, it’s a sticky wicket, that’s for sure! Not easy to extricate oneself, har har.”

Read more on Literature

No Wall Street firm would be able to extricate itself, as there were no longer any buyers.

Read more on Literature

It took firefighters about 30 minutes to extricate the person from beneath the train.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

This ascent cannot be extricated from a geopolitical context that has seen Europe battling for relevance while other major powers jostle for supremacy in many areas, notably AI.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• bail out 
• detach 
• differentiate 
• disengage 
• disentangle 
• extract 
• liberate 
• rescue