disentangle
Free from knots
To disentangle is to separate things that have become twisted, knotted, or interwoven.
You disentangle headphone cords, fishing line, or a child's hair.
Figuratively, to disentangle is to sort out something complicated: disentangling fact from fiction, disentangling the company's finances.
To disentangle yourself from something is to extract yourself from an unwanted involvement: She's trying to disentangle herself from that relationship.
Without payment or restriction
- releaseTo let go
- extricateFree from entanglement
- escapeFlight from captivity
- extractConcentrated derived substance
liberate · loose · detach · disengage · rescue · remove · withdraw · pull away
Undo a fastening
- unwindRelease accumulated tension
- unravelSeparate intertwined strands
- unknotRemove a tangle
- unsnarlRemove tangles from
untwist · separate · loosen · unbraid · unlace · unweave · comb · tease
Separate intertwined strands
- resolveFirmness of purpose
- crackNarrow break or attempt
- work throughDeal with methodically
- sort outResolve or organize
straighten out · clear up · get to the bottom of · unknot · unpick · debug · troubleshoot · diagnose
Make something understandable
- understandGrasp the meaning
- comprehendTo fully understand
- analyzeStudy by breaking down
- decipherConvert code to plaintext
decode · parse · unravel · sort out · make sense of · puzzle out · figure out · work out
Recognize as distinct
- differentiateIdentify differences between things
- isolateSeparate from others
- separateTo set apart
- sortMethod of ordering
tease apart · sift · segregate · decouple · disaggregate · dissociate · partition · divide
free
Without payment or restriction
extract · liberate · loose · detach · disengage · rescue · remove · withdraw · pull away · break free
untie
Undo a fastening
unsnarl · untwist · separate · loosen · unbraid · unlace · unweave · comb · tease · unpick
unravel
Separate intertwined strands
- resolveFirmness of purpose
- crackNarrow break or attempt
- work throughDeal with methodically
sort out · straighten out · clear up · get to the bottom of · unknot · unpick · debug · troubleshoot · diagnose · deduce
clarify
Make something understandable
- understandGrasp the meaning
- comprehendTo fully understand
- analyzeStudy by breaking down
decipher · decode · parse · unravel · sort out · make sense of · puzzle out · figure out · work out · piece together
distinguish
Recognize as distinct
- differentiateIdentify differences between things
- isolateSeparate from others
- separateTo set apart
tease apart · sort · sift · segregate · decouple · disaggregate · dissociate · partition · divide · split
disentangling, disentangled, disentangles, disentanglement, disentangler