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
Gary Baum, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Dec. 2024
Fire officials said the driver was initially unconscious as crews began working to extricate them.
—Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 11 Nov. 2024
Advertisement Almost four hours after the blast, ambulances were still coming in as crews worked to extricate those trapped inside.
—Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 20 Sep. 2024
Meanwhile, Black has six dragons — maybe seven if Daemon quits eating Alys’s poison pies long enough to extricate himself from the labyrinth of bad dreams.
—Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 4 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for extricate 
Dictionary Entries Near extricate
Cite this Entry
“Extricate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/extricate. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.
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extricate
verb
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