This is the 9586th most frequent French word.
démêler
To untangle or sort out.
Here, 'démêler' is used metaphorically to refer to understanding or clarifying a complicated situation.
Il est difficile de démêler la vérité dans cette situation complexe.
It is difficult to unravel the truth in this complex situation.
In this case, 'démêler' has its literal meaning of untangling physical objects, specifically hair.
Marie essaie de démêler ses cheveux après la baignade.
Marie tries to untangle her hair after swimming.
The term 'démêler' is used to describe analyzing and making sense out of scattered or cryptic pieces of information.