Synonyms

unravel

American

[uhn-rav-uhl] / ʌnˈræv əl /

verb (used with object)

to separate or disentangle the threads of (a woven or knitted fabric, a rope, etc.).
to free from complication or difficulty; make plain or clear; solve.

to unravel a situation; to unravel a mystery.
Informal. to take apart; undo; destroy (a plan, agreement, or arrangement).

verb (used without object)

to become unraveled.

unravel British

/ ʌnˈrævəl /

verb

(tr) to reduce (something knitted or woven) to separate strands
(tr) to undo or untangle (something tangled or knotted)
(tr) to explain or solve

the mystery was unravelled
(intr) to become unravelled

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

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Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of unravel

First recorded in 1595–1605; un- ² + ravel

Explanation

However tempting, don't pull that straggly thread hanging from your sleeve. You'll just unravel, or totally undo, your hand-knitted sweater. Something that's unraveled has been completely undone, whether it's a spool of thread, some knotty shoelaces, or your mental state after a long and frustrating day. You can also unravel a mystery by picking it apart, untangling the details or just following the trail of clues like a line of string.

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Vocabulary lists containing unravel

Power Prefix: un-

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Where the Red Fern Grows

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

unravel unravels unraveled unravelled unraveling unravelling

Writing about both Samsung and SK Hynix in a note to clients Wednesday, Gavekal Research analyst Udith Sikand said it’s premature to claim the semiconductor boom’s fundamentals are starting to unravel.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 30, 2026

The agreement began to unravel on Sunday when ships approaching the southern route received a warning from Iranian operators through a radio transmission.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026

Many say the idyll began to unravel when New Delhi appointed civil servant Jayanti Ravi to head Auroville in 2021.

From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026

Walsh tried to unravel his defence, at one stage focusing heavily on the meeting with Complainant B in the late 1990s.

From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026

I watched him unravel a misunderstanding between cabin mates, take suggestions for dinner, and give his opinion on whether the security team needed more kids assigned to it.

From "The Darkest Minds" by Alexandra Bracken

Those positions give the countries bargain power, especially as farmers have already been hit by last year’s tariffs, losing share to Brazil that could gain even more share if the pact unravels.

From Barron's ● Jun. 29, 2026

Still, this could change if the U.S.-Iran deal unravels or fails to prevent another summer energy spike, Smith says.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026

She played the obsessive and troubled woman, Martha, who dramatically unravels onscreen.

From BBC ● Dec. 23, 2025

We wander back wet, down to Castillo Square, down to the ghosts of Bar Milano, a stand-in for Bar Torino, and Café Suizo, where the fiesta unravels in insults, a love polygon and fisticuffs.

From Salon ● Nov. 8, 2025

Every portion of itself unravels, unwinds, undoes, and re-forms into something else.

From "The Girl Who Drank the Moon" by Kelly Barnhill

WSJ’s Tomas Navia investigates how the company unraveled.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026

It’s the latest protest case that has unraveled for the U.S. attorney’s office in L.A.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026

A brief Treasury-market rally that followed Warsh’s first press conference at the Fed’s helm in June also unraveled.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 26, 2026

The attack quickly unraveled when Mangubat revealed she was engaged and actively planning her wedding.

From Salon ● May 30, 2026

The captain comes to visit a few nights after the navigator unraveled into the sea.

From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman

On it, smart cameras installed around his home relayed images of his house, now under clear blue skies, with the hosepipe in the yard unravelled where he left it.

From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026

His comments come as a preliminary deal made in mid-June to stop fighting has unravelled, with negotiations for a permanent peace making little progress after Trump declared the agreement was "over" on 8 July.

From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026

Griffiths' lies unravelled when he agreed to buy a £650,000 house in Llantwit Major in the Vale of Glamorgan in order to be closer to his place of work.

From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026

Kimi Antonelli's hopes of victory at the British Grand Prix unravelled when the front left wheel shield failed and then became lodged in the wheel.

From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026

Even so, I kept worrying that one of the strings would come unravelled and a single balloon would sail off up into that cloudy sky.

From "Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro

On the ChatGPT timeline, nearly the same point coincides with Situational Awareness’s unraveling.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 31, 2026

The unraveling of the Situational Awareness hedge fund has inspired comparisons with Long-Term Capital Management, a legendary hedge fund that failed in spectacular fashion in 1998.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 31, 2026

This is the second in a two-part series revealing the contents of deliberations among America’s allies over how they might salvage their alliance—or prepare for its unraveling.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026

“You were my teacher,” Wang Qishan, a Chinese vice premier at the time, told then-Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson during a visit to Washington in 2008, as the American financial system was unraveling.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026

Behind her, I catch a glimpse of cops unraveling a long stretch of yellow ribbon with the word CAUTION.

From "American Street" by Ibi Zoboi

The pause follows nearly two weeks of daily US strikes and tit-for-tat attacks, effectively unravelling the ceasefire struck in June.

From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026

"No adversary should mistake our current restraint with a lack of resolve," General Dan Caine told reporters, amid fears the current US-Iranian ceasefire is unravelling.

From Barron's ● May 5, 2026

But that is only one of many rule complexities that have followed, and unravelling them to improve qualifying without affecting the perceived positive impacts on racing will not be easy.

From BBC ● Mar. 29, 2026

Does Prada want to coddle you in an unravelling world?

From Barron's ● Feb. 26, 2026

He reached the base of the columns and squinted up at Coach Hedge, who was precariously perched at the feet of the Athena Parthenos, unravelling ropes and knotting a ladder.

From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023