1
as in fraying
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 solving
to find an answer for through reasoning
unraveled the mystery
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of unraveling
Winning Over the Rink Around the same time, Youngblood was grooming hockey dad Eric Perardi, the coach and real-estate developer, who was quietly unraveling amid a bitter divorce.
—
Matthew Bremner, Rolling Stone, 11 Feb. 2026
Byrne commits fully to a woman unraveling in real time, turning psychological collapse into something uncomfortably familiar.
—Clayton Davis, Variety, 11 Feb. 2026
Everywhere, stretches of concrete and glass are unraveling the historic fabric and replacing the green spaces of the city.
—Literary Hub, 10 Feb. 2026
And Tony Day is the key to unraveling that plot and Sweetpea’s got the bit between her teeth.
—Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 6 Feb. 2026
By 2017, her private life was unraveling amid family tensions, abusive coaching and hidden trauma.
—Ashlee Conour, Chicago Tribune, 6 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
To understand how the yarn started unraveling in the first place.
—Chantel Jennings, New York Times, 1 Feb. 2026
As a new Fortune magazine feature reveals, the gold hoarding reflects a belief on the part of Tether’s CEO that Western economies are unraveling and that his firm can be an anchor of stability in an unstable world.
—Carlos Garcia, Fortune, 30 Jan. 2026
Matthew Bremner, Rolling Stone, 11 Feb. 2026
Byrne commits fully to a woman unraveling in real time, turning psychological collapse into something uncomfortably familiar.
—Clayton Davis, Variety, 11 Feb. 2026
Everywhere, stretches of concrete and glass are unraveling the historic fabric and replacing the green spaces of the city.
—Literary Hub, 10 Feb. 2026
And Tony Day is the key to unraveling that plot and Sweetpea’s got the bit between her teeth.
—Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 6 Feb. 2026
By 2017, her private life was unraveling amid family tensions, abusive coaching and hidden trauma.
—Ashlee Conour, Chicago Tribune, 6 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
To understand how the yarn started unraveling in the first place.
—Chantel Jennings, New York Times, 1 Feb. 2026
As a new Fortune magazine feature reveals, the gold hoarding reflects a belief on the part of Tether’s CEO that Western economies are unraveling and that his firm can be an anchor of stability in an unstable world.
—Carlos Garcia, Fortune, 30 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unraveling
Verb
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On a recent walk around Manhattan, for instance, Hadid paired blue jeans with a raw, fraying hem with classic loafers, a perfect combination of hippie and preppy.—
Elizabeth Logan,
Glamour,
10 Feb. 2026
-
His voting coalition is fraying, too.—
Domenico Montanaro,
NPR,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
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In his view, Mercor’s work is a step toward solving bigger problems.—
Hadas Gold,
CNN Money,
17 Feb. 2026
-
Preteen girl at desk solving homework with AI chatbot.—
Sawdah Bhaimiya,
CNBC,
16 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Our narrator, a gay, happily married father of two disentangling himself from a poly love affair, is—depending on the light—brilliant, self-mythologizing, abject, hopeful, and vulnerable.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
8 Sep. 2025
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Brittany Luse is joined by writer and journalist Ana Marie Cox to get into how people are disentangling alcohol from their lives, and the lessons she's learned as a recovering alcoholic.—
Veralyn Williams,
NPR,
6 Jan. 2025
Verb
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The car rides commuting to and from the theater are filled with answering texts and emails, while also resting her voice.—
Leigh Scheps,
Parents,
13 Feb. 2026
-
After answering a user query about Santa Fe, the chatbox provided a link to a desert cottage in the locality.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
11 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
Verb
-
The onus for resolving this crisis should not be placed on the backs of working and middle class New Yorkers.—
Alexa Herrera,
CBS News,
17 Feb. 2026
-
Some customers cite billing concerns or difficulty resolving issues.—
Sharon Wu,
USA Today,
17 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Morrison never stopped thinking about the trick of evoking erasure and undoing it at the same time.—
Judith Shulevitz,
The Atlantic,
17 Feb. 2026
-
But the House version — HB 217 — doesn’t come close to undoing the damage.—
Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board,
The Orlando Sentinel,
15 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Gerima continued to explain that untangling film production from its violent colonial past was a constant battle.—
Zac Ntim,
Deadline,
16 Feb. 2026
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At other points, Siegal turned to Epstein for advice on everything from a dispute over her inheritance to untangling her personal finances to dealing with a rival to her publicity business.—
Brent Lang,
Variety,
10 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Unraveling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unraveling. Accessed 21 Feb. 2026.
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