untangle
gb/ʌntˈæŋɡəl/ us/ʌntˈæŋɡəl/
B2
English
kibogoz, tisztáz, szétválaszt
VERB
B2
1
kibogoz
B2
Usage pattern:
untangle [something]
She spent ten minutes untangling her necklace.
Tíz percig bogozta ki a nyakláncát.
Can you help me untangle these charging cables?
Tudsz segíteni kibogozni ezeket a töltőkábeleket?
He gently untangled the kite string from the tree branch.
Learner examples
I need to untangle my earphones.
Ki kell bogoznom a fülhallgatómat.
She untangled the rope.
Kibogozta a kötelet.
Common mistake:
Learners may only use this for hair; it is also very common for wires, cords, and strings.
Meaning
remove knots from something
Collocations
untangle your hair
|untangle a knot
|untangle a necklace
|untangle a cord
|untangle wires
|untangle earphones
|untangle yarn
|untangle fishing line
|untangle a rope
|carefully untangle
Synonyms
disentangle (More formal; often suggests careful separation.)
|
unknot (Focuses on removing a knot rather than general tangling.)
|
straighten out (More general; can suggest making something lie flat or neat.)
Antonyms
tangle (To twist together into a mess.)
|
knot up (To form knots or tight tangles.)
Themes
daily_life
|clothing
|tools
Definition
To make something not tangled.
To remove knots or twists from something that has become tangled, so it is straight or separate again.
VERB
B2
2
Usage pattern:
untangle [a problem/situation/facts]
The lawyer tried to untangle the conflicting accounts.
Az ügyvéd megpróbálta kibogozni az egymásnak ellentmondó beszámolókat.
It took hours to untangle what went wrong with the booking.
Órákba telt kibogozni, mi ment félre a foglalásnál.
She drew a diagram to untangle the different stages of the process.
Learner examples
I can’t untangle this problem.
Nem tudom kibogozni ezt a problémát.
The report helped untangle the facts.
A jelentés segített tisztázni a tényeket.
Common mistake:
Untangle is about sorting connected details; clarify can be used more broadly for any kind of explanation.
Meaning
make a confusing situation clearer
Collocations
untangle a problem
|untangle a situation
|untangle the facts
|untangle the story
|untangle what happened
|untangle the details
|untangle a dispute
|untangle the evidence
|untangle a mystery
|help untangle
Synonyms
sort out (Very common and informal; emphasizes fixing confusion.)
|
unravel (Often used for mysteries or complicated stories discovered step by step.)
|
clarify (Emphasizes making something clear, not necessarily separating parts.)
Antonyms
confuse (To make something harder to understand.)
|
complicate (To make something more complex or difficult.)
Themes
communication
|education
|problem_solving
Definition
To understand something confusing by organizing the details.
To make a confusing situation, story, or set of facts easier to understand by sorting out what is connected and what is true.
VERB
C1
3
szétválaszt
B1
Usage pattern:
untangle [two/many things]
The company is trying to untangle its international and domestic operations.
A vállalat igyekszik különválasztani a nemzetközi és a hazai tevékenységeit.
It’s hard to untangle personal feelings from professional decisions.
Nehéz szétválasztani a személyes érzéseket a szakmai döntésektől.
They hired an accountant to untangle years of messy records.
Learner examples
We need to untangle these two issues.
Szét kell választanunk ezt a két kérdést.
It is hard to untangle work and home life.
Nehéz szétválasztani a munkát és az otthoni életet.
Common mistake:
Learners may overuse separate; untangle suggests the parts are complexly linked and hard to separate.
Meaning
separate closely connected things
Collocations
untangle responsibilities
|untangle relationships
|untangle finances
|untangle accounts
|untangle ownership
|untangle overlapping roles
|untangle incentives
|untangle competing interests
|untangle cause and effect
|untangle the issues
Synonyms
disentangle (Close synonym; often used for complex links or relationships.)
|
separate (More general; does not imply complexity.)
|
decouple (More technical/business; emphasizes making systems independent.)
Antonyms
entangle (To make things more closely and confusingly connected.)
|
intertwine (To connect closely, often intentionally.)
Themes
business
|relationships
|problem_solving
Definition
To separate things that are strongly connected.
To separate things that are closely connected or mixed together, so they can be handled or understood as distinct parts.
Grammar
Dictionary form
untangle
IPA
GB/ʌntˈæŋɡəl/
US/ʌntˈæŋɡəl/
Syllables & stress
un - tangle (2 syllables)
Stress on 2nd syllable (tangle)
Word forms
Verb
- Base: untangle
- 3rd Person Singular: untangles
- Present Participle: untangling
- Past: untangled
Expressions
untangle yourself from [someone/something]
1/ʌntˈæŋɡəl jʊɹsˈɛlf fɹˈʌm sˈoʊmˈoʊnsəmˈɛθɪŋ/
phrasal verb
free yourself from involvement
To get out of a difficult relationship or situation.
Examples
- He’s been trying to untangle himself from the contract for months.
- She finally untangled herself from a toxic friendship.
- It can take time to untangle yourself from office politics.
Learner examples
- I want to untangle myself from this problem.