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inextricable

/ɪnɛkˈstrɪkəbəl/
/ɪnɛkˈstrɪkəbəl/
IPA guide

A chain that is very badly knotted and cannot be unraveled is inextricable. You cannot disentangle it.

Inextricable comes from the Latin prefix in- meaning "not" and extricare meaning "unravel." Something that is inextricable cannot be unraveled. This isn't just limited to objects. Memories from childhood can sometimes be inextricable from other associations — so bound up that it is hard to separate one from the other.

Definitions of inextricable
  1. adjective
    not permitting extrication; incapable of being disentangled or untied
    “an inextricable knot”
    inextricable unity”
    synonyms:
    irresolvable, unresolvable
    not capable of being resolved
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    antonyms:
    extricable
    capable of being extricated
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