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

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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

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

From Salon ● Aug. 30, 2026

"It wasn't until the horse arrived back at home that it all started to unravel."

From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026

Because WGA has separately sued to unravel the deal, Paramount has asked the judge to have the union post a bond to cover some of the costs, too.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 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

Lourdes studies the colors wrestling to unravel, flaring like certain male species of birds.

From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García

A guy who only knows how to go for broke, and always doubles down when things go wrong, has to stick to his guns or the whole shtick unravels.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 13, 2026

When it unravels like that, the whole spectacle starts to feel pretty cruel.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 14, 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

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

From "Habibi" by Naomi Shihab Nye

A decade of ambition that had initially pushed the West Coast Power Five league to the forefront of college sports had unraveled in a blizzard of criticism.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

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

For a moment the world wavered, unraveled, flowed, then my head cleared and Tatlock bounced before me.

From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison

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

Matthew said thinking back to the time his mother's lies unravelled was like a "fever dream".

From BBC ● Aug. 19, 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

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

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 now — as this year’s “super” El Niño gains strength — some researchers say they are getting closer to unraveling the mystery.

From Los Angeles Times ● 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

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

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

Meanwhile, life in the Labadist community was unraveling.

From "The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian's Art Changed Science" by Joyce Sidman

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

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

From BBC ● Mar. 27, 2026

Does Prada want to coddle you in an unravelling world?

From Barron's ● Feb. 26, 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