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unsnarled

unsnarled

6.7
Not tangled after someone untied or straightened it
  • adjective
  • /ʌnˈsnɑːrld/
translation icon : desenredado
  • The gardener spent hours until the tangled vines were unsnarled and could be properly trained along the trellis.

Examples

  • After carefully removing the knots, the rope was finally unsnarled and ready for use.

  • The boat was packed with sailors, with Breyfogle already bellowing orders to get the rigging unsnarled and the sail up.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • He felt relieved once the old memories were unsnarled, allowing him to move forward without any lingering confusion.

Synonyms

undone
vsunsnarled
9 2.0

Not fastened so clothing or items come open

describes being straightened and freed from a tangled, knotted condition
untied
vsunsnarled
7 1.0

Loose and not fastened so laces or knots hang open

focuses on being freed from tangles and straightened, not just opened
disentangled
vsunsnarled
4.6

Free from knots or tangles and easy to understand

focuses on being straightened out after a messy, knotted state
untangled
vsunsnarled
3.4

Free of knots and twists and easy to separate or understand

emphasizes the act of straightening out from a tangled or knotted state
unentangled
vsunsnarled
4.6

Free from knots and tangles and easy to understand, like a necklace

describes having been smoothed and straightened from a knotted mess
untwisted
vsunsnarled
2.7

Straight again after being wrapped or knotted

refers more broadly to being straightened from any tangled or knotted state
uncoiled
vsunsnarled
3.9

Not curled after being twisted, like a rope or wire

covers straightening from general tangles or knots rather than only rolls
uncurled
vsunsnarled
2.7

Opened out from a coil and lying straight

applies to straightening from knots or messes, not only from curls
knotless
vsunsnarled
3.4

Wood or rope with no rounded imperfections that is smooth and easy to handle

implies active straightening out rather than simply lacking knots

How Tangled

tangled
7 3.3
snarled
5.7
knotted
1.9
unsnarled
6.7
free
155 1.0

Surface Forms

unsnarled positive

Morphology

unsnarled = unsnarl (transparent) = un + snarl + ed

The verb 'unsnarl' is a regular negation of 'snarl' using productive 'un-', and adding '-ed' yields the past-participle/adjectival form meaning 'disentangled'.

Etymology

Unsnarled is made from un- meaning 'reverse' and snarl meaning 'a tangle' or 'twist', like a knotted rope. So to be unsnarled is to have the tangle 'undone', which is why it means 'disentangled' or 'straightened out'.