Meaning & use
extricated
Last updated
“extricated” is a form of “extricate”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
verbtransitive
Past tense and past participle of extricate: freed from a place or situation that held you trapped.
Grammar: Takes an object, often a reflexive pronoun: she extricated herself.
Patterns
- extricate someone from something
- extricate yourself from something
Rescuers extricated the driver from the wrecked car.
He finally extricated himself from the long conversation.
The goat was carefully extricated from the fence.
verbtransitivefigurative
Past tense of extricate: managed to escape from a difficult or embarrassing situation.
Grammar: Usually reflexive and followed by from: extricated himself from a deal.
Patterns
- extricate yourself from something
The company extricated itself from the costly contract.
She extricated herself from the argument with a polite excuse.
Word forms
| base form | extricate |
|---|---|
| third person singular | extricates |
| -ing form | extricating |
Common combinations
- extricate yourself from
- He tried to extricate himself from the awkward situation.
- extricated from the wreckage
- The passengers were extricated from the wreckage.
- extricate someone from a mess
- A friend extricated her from the mess.
- carefully extricated
- The roots were carefully extricated from the pot.
Synonyms and how they differ
- free
- Free is the plain everyday word, while extricated suggests the person was caught up in something awkward or tangled.
- disentangle
- Disentangle fits knots, threads and complicated issues, while extricate focuses on getting someone out.
- rescue
- Rescue implies saving from danger, whereas extricated can describe mild awkward situations too.
- release
- Release means to let go, and need not involve a difficult struggle to get out.
Opposites
Word family
- extricate verb
- to free from a difficulty
- extrication noun
- the act of freeing from a trapped state
- extricable adjective
- able to be freed; rare
- inextricable adjective
- impossible to separate or escape from
Commonly confused: extricated or extracted?
extricated vs extracted
Extracted means pulled out, such as a tooth or information; extricated means freed from a tangle or trap.
Practice
After an hour of trouble, the hikers finally ___ the dog from the thorny bush.
Choose one answer.
Extricated means freed from something that held it trapped. Extracted needs a different construction, and entrusted or exhausted have different meanings.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “extricated”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.