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Sort Out (Verb)

Make free from confusion or ambiguity; make clear; "Could you clarify these remarks?"; "Clear up the question of who is at fault".

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting.

The instructions are quite complicated, let me try to sort out what we need to do first.
It would be helpful if you could sort out this confusion before we proceed any further.
To sort out the situation, let's gather all the relevant information and go through it together.
She tried to sort out the meaning behind her friend's ambiguous message but ended up more confused.
If you could assist in trying to sort out what happened that day, we may be able to resolve this issue.

Arrange or order by classes or categories; "How would you classify these pottery shards--are they prehistoric?".

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting.

The archaeologist carefully sort out the artifacts from the dig site to categorize and date them.
The librarian spent hours trying to sort out the books on the shelves after the library was vandalized.
When donating clothes to charity it's essential to sort out what's wearable and what's not.
The taxonomist is responsible for sorting out different species of plants and animals.
It took months for the museum to sort out and preserve the recently discovered fossils.

Punish in order to gain control or enforce obedience; "The teacher disciplined the pupils rather frequently".

Verbs of political and social activities and events.

The teacher will sort out the troublemaker who keeps disrupting the class.
Her parents will sort her out for staying out past her curfew.
The principal threatened to sort out any student who harassed others in the hallways.
The police tried to sort out the group of hooligans that started a fight in the pub.
The coach made it clear he would sort out any player who displayed poor sportsmanship.