1
as in to fray
to separate the various strands of
it took us forever to unravel the jumbled mass of Christmas tree lights
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to solve
to find an answer for through reasoning
unraveled the mystery
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of unravel
But that truce has quickly unraveled.
—
Gavin J. Quinton, Los Angeles Times, 5 Feb. 2026
Scheffler added another birdie on 17 before things started to unravel.
—John Marshall, Baltimore Sun, 5 Feb. 2026
The mayor warned the federal presence risks unraveling years of investment in community policing and alternative response approaches, saying that work has helped drive crime down and improve relationships.
—Nicole Sganga, CBS News, 4 Feb. 2026
The situation quickly unraveled.
—Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 4 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for unravel
Gavin J. Quinton, Los Angeles Times, 5 Feb. 2026
Scheffler added another birdie on 17 before things started to unravel.
—John Marshall, Baltimore Sun, 5 Feb. 2026
The mayor warned the federal presence risks unraveling years of investment in community policing and alternative response approaches, saying that work has helped drive crime down and improve relationships.
—Nicole Sganga, CBS News, 4 Feb. 2026
The situation quickly unraveled.
—Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 4 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for unravel
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unravel
Verb
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Social media outrage, political division, and economic stress, fray our communal nervous systems.—
Rabbi Bruce D. Forman,
Sun Sentinel,
3 Feb. 2026
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Advertisement None of this will work, however, without civic courage inside countries where democracy is fraying.—
Philippe Bolopion,
Time,
1 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Administration officials said the plan will help the West move beyond complaining about the problem of access to critical minerals to actually solving it.—
DIDI TANG,
Arkansas Online,
5 Feb. 2026
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The levees that solved its flooding concerns also hampered its growth.—
Jake Goodrick,
Sacbee.com,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
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There’s only one way to untangle the Webb inside the Broncos’ quarterback room right now.—
Sean Keeler,
Denver Post,
7 Feb. 2026
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That the two companies use the Orient Express name is a source of confusion Barletta has aimed to untangle through his train cruising model.—
Adam Erace,
Travel + Leisure,
6 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Last month, Vice President JD Vance met with South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok to speak about how the dispute involving Coupang might be resolved.—
David Zimmermann,
The Washington Examiner,
6 Feb. 2026
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By incorporating wind dynamics into their calculations, the researchers resolved long-standing discrepancies between theoretical models and real-world data.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
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For researchers, the framework also opens new directions for studying disease mechanisms that have long been difficult to disentangle under a single diagnostic label.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
4 Feb. 2026
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An industry source tells Deadline’s Rendering column that the message went out to third-party producers to disentangle any Google AI tools from their workflows.—
Jake Kanter,
Deadline,
14 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Like Cincinnati police, Schuler said sheriff's office supervisors usually take on complaints regarding less severe policy violations, such as a deputy speeding on a highway or answering the phone rudely.—
Matthew Cupelli,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
9 Feb. 2026
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Kansas City has a lot of questions to answer in the offseason following a losing season and an ACL injury for quarterback Patrick Mahomes.—
Dan Santaromita,
New York Times,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
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In a feat of precision physics, researchers from Cornell and Stanford Universities have filmed atoms twisting and untwisting in perfect sync, a choreography that unfolds in just a trillionth of a second.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
12 Nov. 2025
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In rare cases, a volvulus can partially resolve on its own if the twist or obstruction is not severe and the intestine untwists spontaneously.—
Sarah Jividen,
Health,
22 Sep. 2024
Verb
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How to unsnarl the emotions that play tug-of-war with our souls?—
Michael Schulman,
New Yorker,
15 Dec. 2025
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During the recent supply-chain crisis, XPO helped unsnarl bottlenecks for customers in several industries.—
Joann S. Lublin,
Time,
27 Nov. 2022
Cite this Entry
“Unravel.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unravel. Accessed 11 Feb. 2026.
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