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

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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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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

It was ultimately the death of another legendary rapper that helped unravel Tupac's shooting death.

From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026

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

One of Greenspan’s most enduring legacies at the Fed was the way in which the dour and bespectacled New Yorker helped unravel the central bank’s mystique.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 22, 2026

The children carefully unravel the sweaters; Danuta saves the water from the boiled beets and re-dyes the yarn.

From "The Light in Hidden Places" by Sharon Cameron

“There is the very real risk that any deal unravels fairly quickly, as we saw with the memorandum of understanding.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026

A failed breakout of that nature, especially one that unravels quickly, would be a meaningful bearish signal.

From Barron's ● Feb. 12, 2026

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

From BBC ● Dec. 23, 2025

The misguided fostering of such deeply felt companionship between the two new pals unravels in “Twinless,” a shrewdly constructed, heartrending dramedy that the multitalented Sweeney also wrote and directed with admirable originality.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2025

The road descends into the Rift, cutting across wrinkled knees of bluffs, until it hits bottom and unravels on a savanna dotted with acacia trees.

From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston

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 Hunts’ broader silver gambit—which drove up prices for the precious metal—was unraveled by regulators in 1980 and silver prices crashed.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 4, 2026

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

From Salon ● May 30, 2026

How could everything have come so fearfully and thoroughly unraveled?

From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein

A lot has happened since head coach Danny Rohl, who has been replaced by Derek McInnes, watched his team limp to the finish after their season unravelled in a post-split collapse.

From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026

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

But it was not long before the friendship unravelled, as excuse followed excuse for why he was failing to give her the £40,000 back.

From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026

It was an interesting choice to describe a player who’d unravelled a few nights before, but it felt like the correct read.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026

Things then unravelled, like a film of the events of the previous two decades being run backwards at high speed.

From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin

But one is surely coming, and the unraveling of the long-term bond market is raising the chances that one is imminent.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026

But it now appears reports of the axis’ unraveling are exaggerated.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 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

Without clear succession planning, Xi also risks the fate that befell Stalin and Mao, whose deaths in office unleashed struggles for power that ended up unraveling their political visions.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026

In the silence I felt it all unraveling, the audience waking with the dream unfinished, all my work ruined, wasted.

From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss

McCullum's exit is the latest twist in the unravelling of the England Test team.

From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026

"I believe that it is highly unlikely that a statutory inquiry would be able to make further progress on unravelling the technical aspects of the programme failure," he said.

From BBC ● May 14, 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

Dogged by injuries, she has made more appearances off the bench in the past three years than she has started games, with her time at City unravelling before her switch to Arsenal in January 2025.

From BBC ● Apr. 25, 2026

‘Well, what have you done?’ said Frodo, getting impatient with the slow unravelling of Butterbur’s thoughts.

From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien

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