unravel

[ uhn-rav-uhl ]

/ ʌnˈræv əl /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for: unravel / unraveled / unraveling / unravelled on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), un·rav·eled, un·rav·el·ing or (especially British) un·rav·elled, un·rav·el·ling.

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), un·rav·eled, un·rav·el·ing or (especially British) un·rav·elled, un·rav·el·ling.

to become unraveled.

QUIZ

ALL IN FAVO(U)R OF THIS BRITISH VS. AMERICAN ENGLISH QUIZ

There's an ocean of difference between the way people speak English in the US vs. the UK. Are your language skills up to the task of telling the difference? Let's find out!

Question 1 of 7

True or false? British English and American English are only different when it comes to slang words.

true

false

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of unravel

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

OTHER WORDS FROM unravel

un·rav·el·er; especially British, un·rav·el·ler, nounun·rav·el·ment, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use unravel in a sentence

Archaeologists recently used a CT scanner to unravel part of the dead person’s story.
Ancient embalmers used mud to hold a damaged mummy together|Kiona N. Smith|February 4, 2021|Ars Technica
He begins to unravel, pleading with the reader not to turn pages, and attempts to block the way with ropes, planks and bricks.
50 years later, ‘The Monster at the End of This Book’ is still selling — and inspiring authors|Danny Freedman|January 27, 2021|Washington Post
Told over the span of five decades, a family slowly unravels after the patriarch finds success.
Washington Post paperback bestsellers||January 26, 2021|Washington Post
This big-picture explanation makes intuitive sense, but actually unraveling what’s going in your body at different stages in a race has turned out to be more complicated than expected.
The Physiology of the Finishing Kick|Alex Hutchinson|January 26, 2021|Outside Online

As a result, I’ve always been fascinated by attempts to unravel the physiology and psychology of the finishing kick.
The Physiology of the Finishing Kick|Alex Hutchinson|January 26, 2021|Outside Online
Her history is already being unravelled, thread by thread, and stitch by stitch.
Dorothy's Travels|Evelyn Raymond
He is entirely too literary to be understood without previous training, and his allegory is not so easily unravelled.
The History of Yiddish Literature in the Nineteenth Century|Leo Wiener
At Stirling Castle it will be convenient to take our next stand, and see “the mazy Forth unravelled.”
The Rivers of Great Britain: Rivers of the East Coast|Various
It was a warning to his and to Hartley's followers that they had not thoroughly unravelled the perplexity but only cut the knot.
The English Utilitarians, Volume I.|Leslie Stephen
The last thing he wrote was the "Mystery of Edwin Drood," the mystery of which is still unravelled.
Masterpieces of Mystery In Four Volumes|Various

British Dictionary definitions for unravel

unravel

/ (ʌnˈrævəl) /

verb -els, -elling or -elled or US -els, -eling or -eled

(tr) to reduce (something knitted or woven) to separate strands

(tr) to undo or untangle (something tangled or knotted)

(tr) to explain or solvethe mystery was unravelled

(intr) to become unravelled

Derived forms of unravel

unraveller, noununravelment, noun

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

unravel

Origin of unravel

OTHER WORDS FROM unravel

Words related to unravel

How to use unravel in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for unravel

Derived forms of unravel