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to extricate

to extricate

22 7.6
Free a person or thing from something that traps them
  • verb
  • /ˈɛkstrɪˌkeɪt/
translation icon : liberar (a alguien) de
  • She had to extricate herself from the complicated web of lies.
  • attempt to extricate
  • trying to extricate
  • difficult to extricate

I mean, it was to some degree, but it could be extricated from that and abstracted.

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Examples

  • Unfortunately, that is the world that we live in and that's going to be a really hard thing to extricate ourselves from.

  • For a moment I thought I heard you say you wish to extricate yourself from the agreement we made.

  • How do we extricate ourselves from that war?

  • So I cannot extricate her from society.

  • And just as I'm trying to extricate myself... I should probably get home.

  • Colonial officials introduced Native Authority courts, which allowed women to extricate themselves from arranged marriages.

    Academic text (1992)
  • I'm afraid to say that over the next decade or longer, it is going to be very hard for the government to really extricate itself from this, from Wall Street.

  • Once you're part of a gang, it's very difficult to extricate yourself and lead a different sort of life once you've been to prison and have a criminal record.

  • Professional mediators and psychologists also spend their lives trying to extricate people from complicated predicaments.

    Academic text (2011)
  • You know, I've just spent the last three years of my life... trying to extricate myself from a relationship that was full of deception... and I'm doing just fine.

Synonyms

to get out
vsto extricate
1.0

Take something out of a container like a box or cupboard

is broader, meaning freeing from problems or movement limits too
to remove
vsto extricate
1.5

To move something or someone away from a place

emphasizes freeing from difficult situations or limits rather than mere removal
to release
vsto extricate
1.8

To let someone or something go free from being held

is more about freeing from difficult situations or movement limits
to let go
vsto extricate
1.4

To stop holding something or someone so they are free

is broader, covering escape from complicated situations or limits
to pull out
vsto extricate
523 2.7

To take something out of a place, often with effort

focuses more on freeing from difficulty or limiting conditions
to let out
vsto extricate
344 1.1

Allow someone or something to leave a place

is more focused on freeing from complications or movement constraints
to free
vsto extricate
337 1.0

To release someone or something that is held

adds emphasis on freeing from difficult situations or limiting forces
to get away
vsto extricate
165 3.0

To escape from people who are holding you, often by force

covers broader freeing actions including removal from complex situations
to disengage
vsto extricate
82 5.3

To stop being part of or connected to something

focuses more on freeing from complicated situations or limiting conditions
to relieve
vsto extricate
34 2.0

Save people or places from danger

is more general, covering release from difficult or limiting situations
to dislodge
vsto extricate
15 6.1

To force something or someone out of a place where they are stuck

is less about force and more about freeing from complications
to untangle
vsto extricate
12 4.9

To free someone from a difficult or confusing situation

is broader, covering freeing from problems or physical constraints
to break free from
vsto extricate
11 4.1

To escape limits or control and become independent

is closer to general freeing from problems or movement limits
to break loose
vsto extricate
8 3.9

To force yourself free from a place or person

is less forceful, focusing on freeing from complex limiting situations
to unchain
vsto extricate
6 4.1

Remove chains and other things that hold someone so they are free

is broader, applying to figurative and complex freeing situations
to unshackle
vsto extricate
5 6.5

Free someone or something from limits and control

is similar but emphasizes release from complex constrained situations
to disentangle
vsto extricate
3 5.8

To free a person or thing from a difficult situation

focuses on release from difficulty or movement limits generally
to unstick
vsto extricate
1 3.9

To come away from something it was stuck to

focuses more on freeing from complicated situations or limits
to untether
vsto extricate
1 6.2

To free someone or something from limits so they can act more freely

is broader, also covering freeing from complicated situations
to unloose
vsto extricate
  • Archaic
1 7.0

To make something less tight or set something free

aims more at freeing from complex problems or limiting conditions
to disembarrass
vsto extricate
  • Archaic
1 9.9

To free a person or thing from an unwanted burden like debts

is more about freeing from limits or complicated situations
to unwedge
vsto extricate
1 7.4

To free something that is stuck by removing what blocks it so it can move again

covers broader freeing from problems or restrictions, not only obstructions
to cast loose
vsto extricate
1 6.7

To free something by letting go of ties or limits

is similar but stresses freeing from complex situations or limits
to disencumber
vsto extricate
  • Archaic
9.9

To free someone or something from a problem that makes things hard

focuses more on releasing from complicated situations or limits
to disembroil
vsto extricate
  • Formal
9.9

To free a person or thing from a difficult situation

is broader, also covering freeing from physical limits or restraints
to kick loose
vsto extricate
  • Informal
8.1

To free yourself from a promise or duty that controls your life

is more general, including freeing from complex situations or limits

Antonyms

215 4.2

Keep someone or something within limits, for example in a small space

8 7.2

To catch a person or animal by tricking them so they cannot escape

How Free

to liberate
104 4.3
to free
337 1.0
to extricate
22 7.6
to untangle
10 3.5

Surface Forms

extricate infinitive
extricated past
extricated past participle
extricating present participle
extricates third person singular

Etymology

Extricate comes from Latin parts ex- meaning 'out' and trica meaning 'a tangle' or 'trouble'. So to extricate someone or something is to pull them 'out' of a problem or a physical tangle.