1
as in fraying
to separate the various strands of
it took us forever to unravel the jumbled mass of Christmas tree lights
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2
as in solving
to find an answer for through reasoning
unraveled the mystery
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Recent Examples of unraveling
But tensions between the factions and the two Gulf nations appear to be unraveling the coalition, threatening to throw them into outright conflict and further tear apart the Arab world’s poorest country.
—
Ahmed Al-Haj, Chicago Tribune, 3 Jan. 2026
Mary Bronstein’s film stars Rose Byrne as a Long Island mom unraveling while dealing with her daughter’s mysterious stomach ailment.
—Nate Jones, Vulture, 2 Jan. 2026
And whose unraveling, in similar ways, exposes secret workings never meant to be uncovered to the air, the hard and hazy light of day.
—David Searcy, Harpers Magazine, 30 Dec. 2025
Jraissati painted a grim picture of Venezuelan society already unraveling under economic collapse.
—Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 18 Dec. 2025
My life this summer was really unraveling in real time.
—Jackie Strause, HollywoodReporter, 18 Dec. 2025
The recent assassination of Miguel Uribe, a right-wing presidential candidate in Colombia, has stoked fears that two decades of progress on security in that country is unraveling.
—Brian Winter, Foreign Affairs, 16 Dec. 2025
But internally, Forest was unraveling.
—Nia Bowers, USA Today, 10 Dec. 2025
Abandoned Mansion smells like history and curiosity intertwined, the scent of someone worth unraveling.
—Adam Hurly, Robb Report, 5 Nov. 2025
Ahmed Al-Haj, Chicago Tribune, 3 Jan. 2026
Mary Bronstein’s film stars Rose Byrne as a Long Island mom unraveling while dealing with her daughter’s mysterious stomach ailment.
—Nate Jones, Vulture, 2 Jan. 2026
And whose unraveling, in similar ways, exposes secret workings never meant to be uncovered to the air, the hard and hazy light of day.
—David Searcy, Harpers Magazine, 30 Dec. 2025
Jraissati painted a grim picture of Venezuelan society already unraveling under economic collapse.
—Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 18 Dec. 2025
My life this summer was really unraveling in real time.
—Jackie Strause, HollywoodReporter, 18 Dec. 2025
The recent assassination of Miguel Uribe, a right-wing presidential candidate in Colombia, has stoked fears that two decades of progress on security in that country is unraveling.
—Brian Winter, Foreign Affairs, 16 Dec. 2025
But internally, Forest was unraveling.
—Nia Bowers, USA Today, 10 Dec. 2025
Abandoned Mansion smells like history and curiosity intertwined, the scent of someone worth unraveling.
—Adam Hurly, Robb Report, 5 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unraveling
Verb
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However, India’s bilateral strategy is fraying.—
Pintu Kumar Mahla,
The Conversation,
3 Nov. 2025
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Ride Cadence Snowboard Boot But last season, due to general wear and tear, the metal cable of my laces started fraying.—
Lisa Jhung,
Outside,
29 Oct. 2025
Verb
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By solving the problem of high credit card APRs, a rate cap could very well end up hurting those it was intended to help.—
Preston Fore,
Fortune,
10 Jan. 2026
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This makes solving the puzzle considerably more difficult.—
Manon Bischoff,
Scientific American,
10 Jan. 2026
Verb
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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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Officers responded to the couple’s home after several concerned friends and co-workers called police to report that Spencer Tepe, a local dentist, had not shown up for work and Monique Tepe was not answering the phone.—
Mirna Alsharif,
NBC news,
10 Jan. 2026
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There were Miami heroics of receiver Malachi Toney turning a short pass into a 36-yard touchdown for the lead, and Mississippi’s answering heroics of quarterback Trinidad Chambliss throwing a 24-yard touchdown to retake the lead.—
Dave Hyde,
Sun Sentinel,
9 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Some folks swear by the idea of kicking off the new year with better habits, resolving to change this and do that differently.—
Abigail Wilt,
Southern Living,
9 Jan. 2026
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The Ravens organization still has a major problem in resolving this awful situation.—
Reader Commentary,
Baltimore Sun,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
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While the rent freeze has been framed as relief for tenants, rising insurance costs may emerge as a new affordability killer in New York City, housing experts and economists told , undoing any savings tenants might have gained from a cap on rent.—
Giulia Carbonaro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
27 Oct. 2025
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Mbappe is not the only player capable of undoing the offside trap.—
Anantaajith Raghuraman,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The procedural stories are simple whodunnits with a New York twist—Murder on Broadway has Hizzoner untangling the on-stage shooting at the closing of a long-running musical, for example.—
James Folta,
Literary Hub,
6 Nov. 2025
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Hanging ornaments with care can be one of the highlights of the holiday season, but untangling wads of string lights is far less enjoyable.—
Maggie Horton,
PEOPLE,
22 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Unraveling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unraveling. Accessed 11 Jan. 2026.
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