disentangle

Universal Words verb [VN] 1 ~ sth (from sth) to separate different arguments, ideas, etc. that have become confused: It's not easy to disentangle the truth from the official statistics. * It is important to disentangle all the factors that may be causing your stress. 2 ~ sth/sb (from sth) to free sb/sth from sth that has become wrapped or twisted around it or them: He tried to disentangle his fingers from her hair. * (figurative) She has just disentangled herself from a painful relationship. 3 to get rid of the twists and knots in sth: He was sitting on the deck disentangling a coil of rope.