untangling
Working out snarls
Untangling is the process of separating things that have become twisted or knotted together: She spent ten minutes untangling the Christmas lights.
The word extends naturally to abstract messes—untangling a complicated situation, untangling someone's finances, untangling the plot of a confusing novel.
The emphasis is on patient, careful work to restore order.
Remove a tangle
- unravelSeparate intertwined strands
- detangleRemove knots from
- unwindRelease accumulated tension
- straightenMake linear or orderly
unsnarl · tease apart · loosen · separate · extricate · untwist · unpick · smooth out
Separate intertwined strands
- clarifyMake something understandable
- straightenMake linear or orderly
- simplifyMake less complex
- decodeConvert from cipher
demystify · parse · elucidate · illuminate · explicate · interpret · uncomplicate · unweave
unknot
Remove a tangle
straighten · unsnarl · tease apart · loosen · separate · extricate · untwist · unpick · smooth out · uncoil
unravel
Separate intertwined strands
- clarifyMake something understandable
- straightenMake linear or orderly
- simplifyMake less complex
decode · demystify · parse · elucidate · illuminate · explicate · interpret · uncomplicate · unweave · sort out
unravel
Separate intertwined strands
- resolveFirmness of purpose
- troubleshootIdentify and fix faults
- work outExercise or solve
solve · decipher · debug · dissect · analyze · diagnose · investigate · trace · unpack · sort through
extricate
Free from entanglement
disengage · detach · escape · unbind · loosen · unshackle · unfetter · break free · extract · remove
- disconnectingdetaching, disconnect, disengaging, detach, disconnecting
- explainingexplaining, clarifying, elaborating, elucidating, expounding
- straighteningunbending, uncoiling, uncurling, unfolding, untwisting
- denouementsending, finale, resolution, closure, wrap-up
- thinkingthinking, reasoning, thought, ponder, contemplate
- hand actionsgrabbing, grasping, gripping, holding, pinching
untanglingtangling
Intertwining into disorder
entangling · knotting · snarling · raveling · matting
untanglingcomplicating
Making less straightforward
confusing · muddling · obfuscating · convoluting · entangling
untanglingtightening
Making less loose
binding · cinching · constricting · knotting · securing
tangle, tangled, untangle, entangle, entangled, tangling, intertwined, disentangle, entanglement