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unravel

Pronunciation: /(ˌ)ʌnˈɹævəl/

The English word “unravel” has 8 meanings listed here.

verb

  1. To cause (something) to no longer be ravelled or tangled; to disentangle, to untangle.
  2. To separate the threads of (something knitted or woven, such as clothing or fabric).
  3. To separate the connected or united parts of (something); to throw (something) into disorder; to confound, to confuse, to disintegrate.
  4. To clear (something) from complication or difficulty; to investigate and solve (a mystery, a problem, etc.); to disentangle, to unfold, to work out.
  5. To reverse or undo (something); to annul, to negate.
  6. To become no longer ravelled or tangled.
  7. 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.
  8. Of a thing: to have its connected or united parts separated; to be thrown into disorder; to become confused or undone; to collapse.

Etymology

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

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.