Adjacent Words

Extricate definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

EX'TRICATE, v.t. [L. extrico. The primary verb trico is not in the Latin. We probably see its affinities in the Gr. hair, or a bush of hair, from interweaving, entangling. I suspect that three is contracted from this root; three for threg, folded, or a plexus. The same word occurs in intricate and intrigue; Eng. trick.
1. Properly, to disentangle; hence, to free from difficulties or perplexities; to disembarrass; as, to extricate one from complicated business, from troublesome alliances or other connections; to extricate one's self from debt.
2. To set out; to cause to be emitted or evolved.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: release from entanglement of difficulty; "I cannot extricate myself from this task" [syn: extricate, untangle, disentangle, disencumber]

Merriam Webster's

transitive verb (-cated; -cating) Etymology: Latin extricatus, past participle of extricare, from ex- + tricae trifles, perplexities Date: 1601 1. a. archaic unravel b. to distinguish from a related thing 2. to free or remove from an entanglement or difficulty • extricable adjective • extrication noun Synonyms: extricate, disentangle, untangle, disencumber, disembarrass mean to free from what binds or holds back. extricate implies the use of care or ingenuity in freeing from a difficult position or situation <extricated himself from financial difficulties>. disentangle and untangle suggest painstaking separation of a thing from other things <disentangling fact from fiction> <untangle a web of deceit>. disencumber implies a release from something that clogs or weighs down <an article disencumbered of jargon>. disembarrass suggests a release from something that impedes or hinders <disembarrassed herself of her advisers>.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v.tr. (often foll. by from) free or disentangle from a constraint or difficulty. Derivatives: extricable adj. extrication n. Etymology: L extricare extricat- (as EX-(1), tricae perplexities)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Extricate Ex"tri*cate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Extricated; p. pr. & vb. n. Extricating.] [L. extricatus, p. p. of extricare to extricate; ex out + tricae trifles, impediments, perplexities. Cf. Intricate.] 1. To free, as from difficulties or perplexities; to disentangle; to disembarrass; as, to extricate a person from debt, peril, etc. We had now extricated ourselves from the various labyrinths and defiles. --Eustance. 2. To cause to be emitted or evolved; as, to extricate heat or moisture. Syn: To disentangle; disembarrass; disengage; relieve; evolve; set free; liberate.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(extricates, extricating, extricated) 1. If you extricate yourself or another person from a difficult or serious situation, you free yourself or the other person from it. It represents a last ditch attempt by the country to extricate itself from its economic crisis... She tugged on Hart's arm to extricate him from the circle of men with whom he'd been talking. = free VERB: V pron-refl from n, V n from n 2. If you extricate someone or something from a place where they are trapped or caught, you succeed in freeing them. (FORMAL) He endeavoured to extricate the car, digging with his hands in the blazing sunshine. = free VERB: V n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

v. a. Disengage, disentangle, clear, disembarrass, relieve, liberate, deliver, free, set free.

Moby Thesaurus

avulse, break loose, break out, clear, cut loose, cut out, deliver, deracinate, dig out, dig up, disburden, disembarrass, disembroil, disencumber, disengage, disentangle, disinvolve, dislodge, draw, draw out, dredge, dredge up, eradicate, evolve, evulse, excavate, excise, exsect, extract, free, free up, get out, gouge out, grub up, liberate, mine, pick out, pluck out, pluck up, pull, pull out, pull up, quarry, rake out, ransom, recover, redeem, release, remove, rescue, retrieve, rip out, root out, root up, salvage, save, set free, take out, tear loose, tear out, unclutter, unearth, unknot, unravel, unscramble, unsnarl, untangle, uproot, weed out, withdraw, wrest out