1
as in frayed
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 solved
to find an answer for through reasoning
unraveled the mystery
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of unraveled
Yet, the season unraveled in 2025, due largely to injuries.
—
Nicki Jhabvala, New York Times, 7 Jan. 2026
But their plans to get back home have completely unraveled.
—Heath Kalb, CBS News, 6 Jan. 2026
But the frustrations, injuries and off-court noise eventually caught up, and the partnership unraveled quicker than anyone expected.
—C.j. Holmes, New York Daily News, 5 Jan. 2026
But that version quickly unraveled as families described begging police to go into the building and 911 calls emerged from students pleading for help.
—Jim Vertuno, Los Angeles Times, 3 Jan. 2026
But the more dire accusations of children buried in secret graves ultimately unraveled.
—David Frum, The Atlantic, 27 Dec. 2025
Kevin O’Reilly of Mooresville slowly unraveled a grocery bag and added another poinsettia to the mix on Friday.
—Briah Lumpkins, Charlotte Observer, 19 Dec. 2025
After her lies unraveled, Jennifer hired three hitmen to kill her parents in 2010.
—Jessica Sager, PEOPLE, 9 Nov. 2025
Gavin argues that as the world unraveled during the 2008 financial crisis, Bernanke drew on his understanding of economic history to grasp the scope of the challenge, recognize the importance of global coordination and embrace out-of-the-box thinking.
—John T. Shaw, Twin Cities, 5 Nov. 2025
Nicki Jhabvala, New York Times, 7 Jan. 2026
But their plans to get back home have completely unraveled.
—Heath Kalb, CBS News, 6 Jan. 2026
But the frustrations, injuries and off-court noise eventually caught up, and the partnership unraveled quicker than anyone expected.
—C.j. Holmes, New York Daily News, 5 Jan. 2026
But that version quickly unraveled as families described begging police to go into the building and 911 calls emerged from students pleading for help.
—Jim Vertuno, Los Angeles Times, 3 Jan. 2026
But the more dire accusations of children buried in secret graves ultimately unraveled.
—David Frum, The Atlantic, 27 Dec. 2025
Kevin O’Reilly of Mooresville slowly unraveled a grocery bag and added another poinsettia to the mix on Friday.
—Briah Lumpkins, Charlotte Observer, 19 Dec. 2025
After her lies unraveled, Jennifer hired three hitmen to kill her parents in 2010.
—Jessica Sager, PEOPLE, 9 Nov. 2025
Gavin argues that as the world unraveled during the 2008 financial crisis, Bernanke drew on his understanding of economic history to grasp the scope of the challenge, recognize the importance of global coordination and embrace out-of-the-box thinking.
—John T. Shaw, Twin Cities, 5 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unraveled
Verb
-
The first one will be connected to a larger community center so that even people who are not in-patient will be able to access health care, mental health care, career counseling, financial planning management and family therapy services to help rebuild relationships frayed by addiction.—
Tatiana Siegel,
Variety,
28 Oct. 2025
-
Four years later, Afghanistan has faded from headlines and those lifelines have frayed.—
Vidushi Mishti Sharma,
Rolling Stone,
24 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
That problem can’t be solved as quickly, but a city spokesperson said new signs indicating that option is available to visitors have been ordered and will be installed as soon as a vendor finishes making them.—
David Garrick,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
6 Jan. 2026
-
Worried that someone might get stuck in the elevator, Jorgie Ramos, who also operates Vice City Pizza in South Miami, decided to shut down the restaurant until the problem was solved.—
Connie Ogle,
Miami Herald,
6 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The Clippers raced to a 14-5 lead, but the Knicks answered with eight straight points and the game was close for the first three quarters.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
8 Jan. 2026
-
In solving an 80-year-old chemical mystery, the researchers have not only answered a long-standing theoretical question but also expanded the toolbox of modern chemistry.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
8 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
No Spotify or Netflix exists for literature, where (other than with some exceptions, such as for vinyl collectors) the medium and the message are more easily disentangled, but the codex has endured for two millennia whereas the CD and the DVD lasted barely two decades.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
24 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Trauma teams use time stamps to log when an interventional need has been reported and when it is resolved using in-district and/or community resources.—
Connye Griffin,
Kansas City Star,
7 Jan. 2026
-
People are also pointing out a few plot points that aren’t resolved.—
CT Jones,
Rolling Stone,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
As a result, the structure gradually collapsed and was smoothed to become almost flat by water currents.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
3 Jan. 2026
-
Alas, these brands already did the heavy lifting, delivering formulas that immediately smoothed and over time improved the delicate skin's texture.—
Jackie Fields,
PEOPLE,
29 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Unraveled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unraveled. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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