démêler

to untangle, to sort out

verb deh-meh-LEH Rare

Usage Note

Démêler literally means to untangle hair or thread (se démêler les cheveux), and figuratively to unravel a complex situation — démêler le vrai du faux (to separate fact from fiction). The related noun is démêlant, which in everyday French is a hair conditioner or detangler.

Examples

"Il faut démêler cette situation compliquée."

Natural Translation

We need to sort out this complicated situation.

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