unravelling

Verb

unravel (third-person singular simple present unravels, present participle (US) unraveling or (UK) unravelling, simple past and past participle (US) unraveled or (UK) unravelled)

1. (transitive) To cause (something) to no longer be ravelled or tangled; to disentangle, to untangle.
   • Mother couldn’t unravel the ball of wool after the cat had played with it.

   Synonyms:

   unsnarl, disentangle, feeze, tease out, untangle

   Antonyms:

   ravel

2. (transitive) To separate the threads of (something knitted or woven, such as clothing or fabric).
   • Stop playing with the seam of the tablecloth! You’ll unravel it.

   Synonyms:

   ravel

   Antonyms:

   ravel

3. (figuratively, transitive) To separate the connected or united parts of (something); to throw (something) into disorder; to confound, to confuse, to disintegrate.
   • to unravel the broad consensus which was created
4. (also, figuratively, reflexive, transitive) To clear (something) from complication or difficulty; to investigate and solve (a mystery, a problem, etc.); to disentangle, to unfold, to work out.
   • to unravel the confusion to unravel a plot

   Synonyms:

   ravel, unpuzzle, unriddle, straighten out, absolve, decipher, get to the bottom of, iron out, meliorate, puzzle out

   Antonyms:

   ravel

5. (figuratively, obsolete, transitive) To reverse or undo (something); to annul, to negate.
   • For everie time thou admitſt mee after, to thy / Pillovv, I'le ſtrike of an hundred pound, / Till all the debts be unravel'd: […]1634 July 4 (date licensed; Gregorian calendar), Iames Shirly [i.e., James Shirley], The Example. […], London: […] Iohn Norton, for Andrew Crooke, and William Cooke, published 1637, →OCLC, Act III...
6. (intransitive) To become no longer ravelled or tangled.

   Synonyms:

   ravel

   Antonyms:

   ravel

See all 8 meanings of unravel