1
as in to fray
to separate the various strands of
it took us forever to unravel the jumbled mass of Christmas tree lights
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to solve
to find an answer for through reasoning
unraveled the mystery
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of unravel
Over the course of the eight-episode first season, young Sherlock teams up with new friend and future foe James Moriarty (Dónal Finn) to unravel an international conspiracy that can be traced back to his mad scientist father, Silas, who has plans to revolutionize the future of chemical warfare.
—
Max Gao, IndieWire, 4 Mar. 2026
Amanda Kohr Crickets – After the disappearance of their first-place teammate, a group of competitive teen dancers and their stage moms begin to unravel, exposing the brutal cost of girlhood, ambition, and the need to be loved.
—Katie Campione, Deadline, 2 Mar. 2026
But the Cardinal then stumbled through a 1-8 stretch that threatened to unravel everything.
—Harold Gutmann, Mercury News, 2 Mar. 2026
The movement is largely conventional (lots of traditional ballet tricks for the men), but there is also a distinctive twisting, a wind-up torquing through the spine and torso, which the dancers ingeniously unravel.
—Jennifer Homans, New Yorker, 2 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for unravel
Max Gao, IndieWire, 4 Mar. 2026
Amanda Kohr Crickets – After the disappearance of their first-place teammate, a group of competitive teen dancers and their stage moms begin to unravel, exposing the brutal cost of girlhood, ambition, and the need to be loved.
—Katie Campione, Deadline, 2 Mar. 2026
But the Cardinal then stumbled through a 1-8 stretch that threatened to unravel everything.
—Harold Gutmann, Mercury News, 2 Mar. 2026
The movement is largely conventional (lots of traditional ballet tricks for the men), but there is also a distinctive twisting, a wind-up torquing through the spine and torso, which the dancers ingeniously unravel.
—Jennifer Homans, New Yorker, 2 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for unravel
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unravel
Verb
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The fraying ties prompted Islamabad to return almost three million Afghan nationals in recent months, straining Kabul’s scant resources.—
semafor.com,
semafor.com,
3 Mar. 2026
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The finest pitching prospect since Ubaldo Jimenez became undone, fraying at the seams as part of a rotation that should be buried underneath the batting cages at Salt River Fields and never be spoken of again.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
3 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The invention also solves another issue.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
6 Mar. 2026
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Irreverent and misguided, his genius and famous name weigh heavily on him, but using his gift to help solve homicides may — finally — offer his life some direction and purpose.—
Rosy Cordero,
Deadline,
5 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Researchers at the Whitehead Institute and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, for example, developed an AI model to predict a protein’s destination within human cells based on its amino acid sequence, a finding that could help untangle the role of mis-localization in disease.—
Amanda Erickson,
STAT,
27 Feb. 2026
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They eventually were untangled, and the referees were convening at center ice when Tkachuk skated off the bench and toward the Red Wings penalty box to talk to Edvinsson.—
Ryan Canfield,
FOXNews.com,
27 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The White House and congressional Democrats don't appear to have made significant progress in recent weeks in resolving their differences after trading offers.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
6 Mar. 2026
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Bull-versus-bear debates usually take time to be resolved, but this is a positive development in favor of the bulls.—
Zev Fima,
CNBC,
5 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The fundamental goal of the 1787 Constitution was to establish a republican form of government — and that meant disentangling the traditional powers of the monarch and placing them in different branches of government.—
David French,
Mercury News,
3 Mar. 2026
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Embedded in a patriarchal family within an oppressive society, Mrie faces the challenge of disentangling herself from both.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
24 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The race to find what’s next Meta, Google and Samsung are all betting big on smart glasses that use AI to analyze and answer questions about a wearer’s surroundings.—
Lisa Eadicicco,
CNN Money,
2 Mar. 2026
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With Roope Hintz, Mikko Rantanen and Radek Faksa all out of the lineup again, the Stars needed some depth scoring, and Bastian answered with a timely goal.—
Lia Assimakopoulos,
Dallas Morning News,
1 Mar. 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 8 Mar. 2026.
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