extricate
verb
transitive verb
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Extricate is used for the act of freeing someone or something from a tangled situation. Its spelling and meaning comes from Latin extricatus, which combines the prefix ex- ("out of") with the noun tricae, meaning "trifles or perplexities." The resemblance of tricae to trick is no illusion—it's an ancestor.
Synonyms
- clear
- disembarrass
- disengage
- disentangle
- free
- liberate
- release
- untangle
Example Sentences
Tess Williams, Anchorage Daily News, 24 Aug. 2022 Hoover Fire Department’s Technical Rescue arrived to help extricate her. Carol Robinson | Crobinson@al.com, al, 21 July 2022 The move comes shortly after The Washington Post reported that Musk was planning to extricate himself from the deal. Michael Kan, PCMAG, 8 July 2022 Over the course of 18 days, thousands of volunteers, including more than 100 divers, helped in the effort to extricate the soccer team amid monsoon rains. Paddy O'connell, Outside Online, 4 Aug. 2022 Officials had to extricate one person from the car, who was hospitalized. Angie Dimichele, Sun Sentinel, 29 July 2022 The only question today is whether Musk can extricate himself, or more precisely, at what price. Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 8 July 2022 Then there is the Middle East, from which America has been trying to extricate itself for years. Stephen Collinson, CNN, 25 Jan. 2022 Firefighters and lifeguards were still working to extricate the person . Wendy Fry, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 July 2022 See More Word History
Latin extricatus, past participle of extricare, from ex- + tricae trifles, perplexities
1601, in the meaning defined at sense 2b
Kids Definition
extricate
verb
extricate
verb
Synonyms & Similar Words
- liberate
- disentangle
- free
- save
- disengage
- rescue
- untangle
- redeem
- release
- cut loose
- disembarrass
- clear
- unravel
- untie
- deliver
- unburden
- disencumber
- unsnarl
- disburden
- untwine
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- hinder
- embroil
- impede
- entangle
- obstruct
- hamper
- block
- weigh
- burden
- load
- encumber
Synonym Chooser
Some common synonyms of extricate are disembarrass, disencumber, disentangle, and untangle. While all these words mean "to free from what binds or holds back," extricate implies the use of care or ingenuity in freeing from a difficult position or situation.
The meanings of disembarrass and extricate largely overlap; however, disembarrass suggests a release from something that impedes or hinders.
Although the words disencumber and extricate have much in common, disencumber implies a release from something that clogs or weighs down.
Both disentangle and untangle suggest painstaking separation of a thing from other things.