unravel
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).
to become unraveled.
Origin of unravel
1Other words from unravel
- un·rav·el·er; especially British, un·rav·el·ler, noun
- un·rav·el·ment, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use unravel in a sentence
We must see how far he applied this principle successfully to the unravelment of the great problems of philosophy.
A Critical History of Greek Philosophy | W. T. StaceFortunately for Cleopatra, Leonetta herself brought about the unravelment in a manner sufficiently satisfactory to her sister.
Too Old for Dolls | Anthony Mario LudoviciThere was evidently some mystery afoot, and the expectation of its unravelment gave a spice of excitement to the coming visit.
More About Peggy | Mrs G. de Horne VaizeyChance had placed in my hands the threads of a mystery whose unravelment was threatened with terrible possibilities.
The Yellow House | E. Phillips OppenheimHumanly speaking, it was out of the question to look for a peaceful and bloodless unravelment at the front.
In the World War | Count Ottokar Czernin
British Dictionary definitions for unravel
/ (ʌnˈrævəl) /
(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
Derived forms of unravel
- unraveller, noun
- unravelment, 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
Browse