Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- transitive verb To free from a tangle; disentangle. synonym: extricate.
- transitive verb To straighten out (something puzzling or complicated); clarify or resolve.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To loose from tangles or intricacy; disentangle; hence, to free from embarrassment, doubt, or uncertainty; resolve; clear up; explain.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- transitive verb To loose from tangles or intricacy; to disentangle; to resolve.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb To remove
tangles orknots . - verb by extension To remove
confusion ormystery .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb release from entanglement of difficulty
- verb become or cause to become undone by separating the fibers or threads of
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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My reticence and my use of the word "untangle" is based on this:
Archive 2007-06-01 Ann Althouse 2007
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Alas, our surveys cannot allow us to untangle the causal pathways here.
American Grace Robert D. Putnam 2010
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By testing the impact of all the relevant factors simultaneously, we can be sure that one is not standing in for another; thus we untangle the many influences on congregational diversity.
American Grace Robert D. Putnam 2010
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Words sprang into my head and the lines seemed familiar, like something I had said many times before: O time, thou must untangle this knot, not I.
Dark Secrets 2: No Time to Die the Deep End of Fear Elizabeth Chandler 2011
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This comment was originally posted on Twitter untangle said at 10pm on Nov 16th # |
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Front liners are unable to untangle this web, despite protestations by many with an informed and accurate perspective at the coal face.
‘Single Crewed’ In Ruralshire « POLICE INSPECTOR BLOG Inspector Gadget 2009
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Front line police officers are unable to untangle this web, despite protestations by many with an informed and accurate perspective and experience at the sharp end.
See No Evil…… (at least until the next financial year) « POLICE INSPECTOR BLOG Inspector Gadget 2010
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Under the best of circumstances, winding down a civil war is a tricky business, but the vested interests between these warring parties had created a Gordian knot that most people in the State Department thought would be impossible to untangle.
Gideon’s war Howard Gordon 2011
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While the majority of residents are convinced that life in that potential new state will be a vast improvement over that in a united Sudan, just how the two nations will untangle their economies and political allegiances remains to be seen.
The Youngest Nations In The World: South Sudan Could Join Today The Huffington Post 2011
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While the majority of residents are convinced that life in that potential new state will be a vast improvement over that in a united Sudan, just how the two nations will untangle their economies and political allegiances remains to be seen.
The Youngest Nations In The World: South Sudan Could Join Today The Huffington Post 2011
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