transitive verb

• 1Free (something or someone) from an entanglement; extricate.

  ‘“I must go,” she said, disentangling her fingers from Gabriel's’

  More example sentences

  • ‘it was often difficult to disentangle fact from fiction’
  • ‘After disentangling it from around his front sprocket he fought back over the day's remaining test to claim victory.’
  • ‘‘The members are greatly helped by the formation of this group as we get a steady income now,’ she says as she triumphantly disentangles the weed from the nets.’
  • ‘As she rises from a low chair at which she has been playing the clavichord, she disentangles the folds in the capacious dress which emphasises her tiny form.’
  • ‘One by one, he disentangled the fish caught by their gills in his net.’
  • ‘Apologies for the somewhat evident lack of focus, I was trying to decide whether I should take the picture or disentangle the cat from the tree… I did neither successfully!’
  • ‘DNA is found in every cell of every living thing, but it is difficult to get it out and disentangle the DNA from the protein inside the cells.’
  • ‘I would like to whizz down but I keep getting my hair caught so I have to stop, swearing as I disentangle it.’
  • ‘Haul immediately disentangled his rapier from the person's sai with a twist of his hand, and continued their fight.’
  • ‘Unfortunately she could not disentangle herself from the rope as the knots were out of reach.’
  • ‘Growling deep in his throat, he disentangled himself from her hair and rose to his feet quickly.’
  • ‘She starts trying to untangle herself, but every time she manages to successfully get some part of her clothing or hair disentangled, something else gets stuck.’
  • ‘She screamed, wrenching a sizable twig out of her hair and hurling it at him, after disentangling herself from what must have been the twentieth or so bramble thicket.’
  • ‘He threw his arms around her waist, and she placed a hand on his silky hair for a moment before disentangling herself gently.’
  • ‘I reached up and disentangled a bright red bra from my hair.’
  • ‘I was laughing hysterically as he disentangled himself from it and tackled me in the sand.’
  • ‘Austin stopped moving and slowly disentangled Kyle's sticky little hands from his hair.’

  Synonyms

  extricate, extract, free, remove, disengage, untwine, disentwine, release, liberate, loosen, unloose, detach, unfasten, unclasp, disconnect

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  1. 1.1Remove knots or tangles from (wool, rope, or hair)
     ‘Allen was on his knees disentangling a coil of rope’
     More example sentences

     • ‘Ava asked, gently disentangling her untamed red hair.’
     • ‘She giggled and blushed, becoming less frightened and more excited as their hands moved from disentangling her hair to caressing her sensitive skin with their hands.’
     • ‘Kara reached for the brush and started disentangling her hair, thinking about it.’
     • ‘That is the process of your work - disentangling the string and reworking it into a meaningful tapestry.’
     Synonyms

     untangle, unravel, remove the knots from, unknot, unsnarl, untwist, unwind, undo, untie, straighten out, smooth out

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