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inextricability

inextricability

9.9
A situation in which two things cannot be separated
  • noun
  • /ˌɪnɛkˈstrɪkəˌbɪlɪti/
translation icon : inextricabilidad
  • For Victorians, the inextricability of remembering and forgetting is by no means confined to aesthetic or technological realms; it has broader cultural significance.

Examples

  • In her speech, she emphasized the inextricability of personal identity and community belonging.

  • M'Gaw's frontier romance posits the inextricability of Johnny Appleseed and a distinctly American wilderness.

    Academic text (2012)
  • Furthermore, a certain inextricability marks this connection.

    Academic text (1995)
  • The "inextricability" of the two stories proposes the one, Berlioz's, as an exemplum of the other, Bidart's.

    Academic text (2001)
  • The inextricability of land and water problems underscores the need for coordinating water-resources planning and management with land-use planning and regulation.

    Academic text (1991)
  • In itself, Lindblom's point about the inextricability of means-ends inter-relationships is well recognized and was also made by some of his contemporaries (e.g., Wildavsky 1966, 299-300).

    Academic text (2016)
  • The inextricability of social issues and economic policies makes solving them extremely challenging.

  • The inextricability of language and culture means that learning one often involves understanding the other.

Synonyms

entanglement
vsinextricability
3 6.3

Two or more things twisted together so they are hard to separate

means a permanent linked state rather than temporary tangling
inseparability
vsinextricability
1 7.4

A situation where you cannot split people or things apart, like close friends

focuses on being unable to escape or break away from something
indivisibility
vsinextricability
6.8

Cannot be separated into parts, for example rights or groups

highlights being tied to something and unable to separate or escape
indissolubility
vsinextricability
  • Formal
9.4

A situation people cannot end or break, often for agreements like marriage vows

frames being unable to escape or separate beyond legal ending
inherence
vsinextricability
  • Formal
9.7

A quality that is a natural, permanent part of something

focuses on being bound to something externally rather than an inner trait

Antonyms

1 6.8

The ability to be taken apart

Freeing things or people trapped in knots and difficult situations

How Inseparable

inextricability
9.9
entanglement
3 6.3
connection
1.9
separability
1 6.8

Surface Forms

Morphology

inextricability = inextricable (semi-transparent) = in + extricate + able + ity

Formation from 'inextricable' + '-ity' is regular, but the root verb 'extricate' and the intermediate adjective are relatively uncommon and may be unfamiliar to many learners.

Etymology

The word inextricability breaks down into in- ('not'), extricate ('to free or untangle'), and -ability ('the quality of'), so inextricability is the quality of being impossible to separate or escape, like a knot you cannot untie.