extricate
verb
Did you know?
Oh what a tangled web the English language weaves. Extricate, for example, may remind you of extract, another word applied when something is removed, but we can tease them apart. Although extricate and extract resemble each other, to extract something is to remove it using methods that often involve physical force, as in “the dentist had to extract my tooth.” Extricate, on the other hand, is more often used for the act of freeing someone or something from a difficult or tangled situation, which can, but need not, involve literal yanking or pulling. Extricating yourself from an awkward conversation, after all, can be as simple as announcing “I need to take this call!” and shuffling off with phone to ear. Extricate comes from the Latin verb extricare, which combines the prefix ex- (“out of”) with the noun tricae, meaning “trifles or perplexities.”
Synonyms
Examples of extricate in a Sentence
Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 17 Jan. 2025
After an amazing back-and-forth (DeVito and William Standford Davis were great at playing off each other), Gregory extricates himself from the problem, leaving the two unhinged men to figure it out between themselves.
—Ile-Ife Okantah, Vulture, 8 Jan. 2025
The president-elect, however, has not signaled an interest in extricating the justice system from political fights.
—Henry Gass, The Christian Science Monitor, 3 Dec. 2024
The driver of the Toyota Tacoma, whose vehicle rolled and landed in eastbound traffic lanes, was also extricated and taken to a hospital in critical condition.
—Skylar Heisey, The Arizona Republic, 16 Dec. 2024
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Dictionary Entries Near extricate
Cite this Entry
“Extricate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/extricate. Accessed 26 Jan. 2025.
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extricate
verb
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