Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[missdaredevil]

Africa's progress was *extricably* linked to the fate of girls.
Could anyone explain that and perhaps use it another sentece?

Thanks

[lotus]

Hi missdaredevil,

The author probably meant "inextricably." We don't really use extricably.

The base word is "extricate." It means to be separated or released from entanglement or difficulty. It's usually used in a physical sense. "The firefighters had to extricate the driver from the wreckage." "The driver was extricated from the wreckage."

Inextricable means the opposite. It means something cannot be separated physically or conceptually. It's usually used in a conceptual sense. "Her fear of relationships is inextricably tied to her parents' divorce."

The author probably meant to say:
"Africa's progress was inextricably linked to the fate of the girls."


--lotus

[LucentShade]

Based on the rest of the sentence, that should be "inextricably." The root word is similar in meaning to "extract." There are other words that "should" exist but don't...for instance, we say "inadvertently" but never "advertently." You can be "overwhelmed" or "underwhelmed" by somthing, but not "whelmed."