extricate
Definitions
To free someone or something from a difficult or tangled situation
使解脱；救出；使摆脱（困境）
Root Breakdown
Root-derivedex- (out) + tric (trīcae, 'tangles') + -ate = 'to pull out of the tangle.' The exact opposite of intricate (tangled IN). You extricate yourself from a mess, or rescuers extricate someone from wreckage — always working free from a knot.
Root intric still carries 8 more wordsWhy It Means This
Extricate is best understood as intricate run backwards. The prefix flips the direction: where intricate ties parts together, extricate pulls one part free. That is why it so often appears as 'extricate oneself' — the effort of getting out of a knot you're caught in, whether literal wreckage or a figurative bind.
Common Collocations
- 1.extricate from从……中解脱
- 2.extricate oneself使自己脱身
- 3.extricate someone from把某人从……救出
Example Sentences
- 1.
It took her years to extricate herself from debt.
- 2.
Firefighters worked for an hour to extricate the trapped driver.
- 3.
He couldn't extricate himself from the awkward conversation.