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

Inflected Forms

Participles

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.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing unravel

Power Prefix: un-

Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!

List 11

Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!

Where the Red Fern Grows

Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!

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

Gen. Rob Bonta leads a coalition of state attorneys general who are battling to try to unravel the mammoth deal.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 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

The second order, on post-quantum cryptography, addresses a looming vulnerability: the rise of quantum computers powerful enough to unravel the public-key cryptography underpinning secure web browsing and blockchain networks.

From Barron's ● Jun. 22, 2026

And then, barely a week later, a single rogue agent pulled a thread that threatened to unravel Stalin's carefully woven net.

From "Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia" by Marc Favreau

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

There is no chorus in Icke’s version, but the sentiment holds, as Oedipus unravels the puzzle of his identity with the same relentlessness that has brought him to the brink of electoral triumph.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 13, 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

She swipes her fingers across her eyes, and my brain just unravels.

From "Leah on the Offbeat" by Becky Albertalli

In Aviv’s view, Munro’s work accumulated power even as her family unraveled and her own unheroic passivity was exposed.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026

The opposition leader’s plan to return home after devastating earthquakes unraveled in midflight.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026

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

From Salon ● May 30, 2026

Zscaler has been tapped as a favorite cybersecurity stock by some analysts, but investor optimism seems to have unraveled Wednesday after the company’s outlook for revenue in the current quarter fell short of expectations.

From MarketWatch ● May 27, 2026

They seemed to have come unraveled all on their own.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown

That has now unravelled with what began as a blog a couple of years ago escalating in recent weeks, with more journalists unpicking aspects of Arday's life story and asking questions.

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 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

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

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

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026

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

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

The problem began when we unbundled, canceling our landline, which was like pulling the last thread that kept our lives from unraveling.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026

As they stood, patiently unraveling coiled tendrils, Dicey began to sing the song about the wide river and the small boat.

From "Homecoming" by Cynthia Voigt

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

She says she felt like everything was "unravelling" when she hit crisis point.

From BBC ● May 27, 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

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