extricate

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

语言学习

2024-11-02

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Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 2, 2024 is: extricate EK-struh-kayt verb What It Means To extricate someone or something is to free or remove that person or thing from an entanglement or difficulty, such as a trap or a difficult conversation. // She hasn't been able to extricate herself from her legal problems. cynosure in Context “When you've spent your entire life achieving highly—from school into jobs—it can be incredibly difficult to extricate yourself from the mentality that your professional success defines your worth.” — Julia DiPrete, Business Insider, 3 Jan. 2024 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.”
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  • It's the word of the day for November 2nd.

  • Today's word is extra-cate, spelled E-X-T-R-I-C.

  • A-T-E, extricate is a verb.

  • To extricate someone or something is to free or remove that person or thing from an entanglement or difficulty,

  • such as a trap or a difficult conversation.

  • Here's the word used in a sentence from Business Insider by Julia DePreet.

  • When you've spent your entire life achieving highly from school into jobs,

  • it can be incredibly difficult to extricate yourself from the mentality that your professional success defines your worth.

  • Oh, what a tangled web the English language weaves.

  • Extricate, for example, may remind you of the word 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 your phone to your ear.

  • Extra Kate comes from the Latin verb extracare,