inextricable
Americanadjective
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from which one cannot extricate oneself.
an inextricable maze.
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incapable of being disentangled, undone, loosed, or solved.
an inextricable knot.
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hopelessly intricate, involved, or perplexing.
inextricable confusion.
adjective
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not able to be escaped from
an inextricable dilemma
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not able to be disentangled, etc
an inextricable knot
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extremely involved or intricate
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of inextricable
First recorded in 1375–1425; a late Middle English word, from the Latin word inextrīcābilis; see in- 3, extricable
Explanation
A chain that is very badly knotted and cannot be unraveled is inextricable. You cannot disentangle it. Inextricable comes from the Latin prefix in- meaning "not" and extricare meaning "unravel." Something that is inextricable cannot be unraveled. This isn't just limited to objects. Memories from childhood can sometimes be inextricable from other associations — so bound up that it is hard to separate one from the other.
Vocabulary lists containing inextricable
Grade 12, List 6
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"A Rose for Emily"
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Ender's Game
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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.
But for the Iranian director Jafar Panahi the two are unusually inextricable.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 15, 2025
She captured Wednesday’s essence with such biting precision that her performance now feels inextricable from the role.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 30, 2025
The conversation surrounding the film was inextricable from the movie itself; one necessitated the other.
From Salon • Jun. 21, 2025
Her signing skills are an inextricable part of her remarkable story.
From BBC • Apr. 28, 2025
What I kept forgetting, of course, was that high school was home to infinite cliches for a reason, and that Ocean was, in some ways, still inextricable from his own stereotype.
From "A Very Large Expanse of Sea" by Tahereh Mafi
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.
