unravel

English dictionary entry

Meanings

verb

To cause (something) to no longer be ravelled or tangled; to disentangle, to untangle.
To separate the threads of (something knitted or woven, such as clothing or fabric).
To separate the connected or united parts of (something); to throw (something) into disorder; to confound, to confuse, to disintegrate.
To clear (something) from complication or difficulty; to investigate and solve (a mystery, a problem, etc.); to disentangle, to unfold, to work out.
To reverse or undo (something); to annul, to negate.
To become no longer ravelled or tangled.
Of threads: to become separated from something knitted or woven, such as clothing or fabric; also, of something knitted or woven: to separate into threads; to come apart.
Of a thing: to have its connected or united parts separated; to be thrown into disorder; to become confused or undone; to collapse.

Pronunciation

/(ˌ)ʌnˈɹævl̩/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-unravel.wav /ˌʌnˈɹævəl/

Word forms

unravel unravels unraveling unravelling unraveled unravelled no-table-tags glossary unravellest unravelest unravelledst unraveledst unravelleth unraveleth

Etymology

PIE word *h₂énti From un- (suffix denoting the inverse of the specified action) + ravel. cognates * Dutch ontrafelen (“to unravel”)

Synonyms

unsnarl disentangle feeze tease out unravel untangle ravel unpuzzle unriddle straighten out absolve decipher get to the bottom of iron out meliorate puzzle out reason out resolve riddle sleuth solve think out unsolve upsolve work out Any from Thesaurus:untangle come undone

Antonyms

ravel

Derived words

unravelable unravellable unraveled unravelled unraveler unraveller unraveling unravelling unravelment

Translations

Finnish: purkaa

This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.

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