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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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's also partly why it is quite so delightful to watch - as friendships unravel, and former co-stars turn on each other.

From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026

It’s a really interesting look at how things can unravel.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2026

Once you start pulling on this thread, the whole thing starts to unravel.

From Salon ● Aug. 30, 2026

No other sport, Mr. Futterman writes, has as many stars, such as Jennifer Capriati, Mats Wilander and Kim Clijsters, who unravel or quit in their prime.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026

C.P. considered himself a radical, but Jacobs was clearly cut from a different cloth—one that was beginning to unravel.

From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson

The rest of “The Crazy Uncle Joe Show” unravels as a barrage of rapid-fire ad libs that makes the 90-minute improv show feel like a comedic sprint.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026

The pressure is truly on with five games remaining as the campaign unravels at a crucial juncture.

From BBC ● Apr. 18, 2026

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

From Barron's ● Feb. 12, 2026

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

A story is a seam in a dress—some days it unravels.

From "Habibi" by Naomi Shihab Nye

The situation unraveled just as Paul was poised to make her debut as the heroine of the 22nd season of “The Bachelorette.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

When Aschenbrenner’s hedge fund unraveled last month, veterans on Wall Street saw it as the latest cautionary tale of hubris—another inexperienced, overconfident investor taking on too much risk with far too much leverage.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 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

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

I let go of one handle, and the bag unraveled quickly, reaching the size of a soccer net and then doubling every second.

From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda

The scam unravelled because one of the ringers was also a journalist.

From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026

But his plot unravelled again, and Potier was sentenced to 12 years behind bars.

From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026

It was the worst attack by the Houthis since a four-year truce in Yemen's long-running civil war unravelled in July.

From Barron's ● Sep. 8, 2026

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

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

Wall Street is betting on Fed Chair Kevin Warsh to keep a manic bond market from unraveling.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 4, 2026

We lead today with new reporting on the unraveling of Situational Awareness, detailing how its wunderkind founder Leopold Aschenbrenner forged close ties with tech’s top players even as he rankled some of his own bosses.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026

There was the unraveling: a July report that passages of his thesis matched another scholar’s, an investigation, his resignation and, nine days later, his death.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

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

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026

Now with Abby mad at me, I felt it unraveling.

From "Hope Springs" by Jaime Berry

"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

"Our home honestly felt like it was unravelling," he says.

From BBC ● Mar. 27, 2026

And Barrett's glamorous life appears to be unravelling.

From BBC ● Mar. 14, 2026

The tragedy of the war, on so many levels, and the apparent unravelling of the certainties of the previous century, elicited an unprecedented collective response from British composers.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall

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