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
Donald Cline: Fertility doctor who fathered dozens The story of Indianapolis fertility doctor Donald Cline began to unravel in 2014, after Jacoba Ballard, who believed she was conceived using an anonymous sperm donor, took a DNA test to learn about her biological background.
—
Kristine Phillips, IndyStar, 15 July 2025
Wright plays Laura, a woman whose perfect life begins to unravel when her precious son, Daniel (Laurie Davidson), brings home Cherry (Cooke), a girlfriend who changes everything.
—Ryan Schwartz, TVLine, 14 July 2025
Her perfect life begins to unravel when Daniel brings home Cherry (Cooke), a girlfriend who changes everything.
—Leia Mendoza, Variety, 14 July 2025
Insurance disputes, lawsuits and definitive causes of the Eaton and Palisades fires may take years to unravel.
—Los Angeles Times, 12 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for unravel
Kristine Phillips, IndyStar, 15 July 2025
Wright plays Laura, a woman whose perfect life begins to unravel when her precious son, Daniel (Laurie Davidson), brings home Cherry (Cooke), a girlfriend who changes everything.
—Ryan Schwartz, TVLine, 14 July 2025
Her perfect life begins to unravel when Daniel brings home Cherry (Cooke), a girlfriend who changes everything.
—Leia Mendoza, Variety, 14 July 2025
Insurance disputes, lawsuits and definitive causes of the Eaton and Palisades fires may take years to unravel.
—Los Angeles Times, 12 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for unravel
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unravel
Verb
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In addition, relations with allies are frayed at worst, strained at least.—
Ken Roberts,
Forbes.com,
15 July 2025
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Mile after mile of the region’s precious tree canopy was badly frayed or destroyed.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
11 July 2025
Verb
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Red Bull has been struggling to solve issues with its RB21 F1 car, as McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris dominate the grid for the 2025 championship.—
Saajan Jogia,
MSNBC Newsweek,
19 July 2025
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But if Grier and McDaniel get the culture right this time that goes a long way toward solving problems of the past few years.—
Dave Hyde,
Sun Sentinel,
19 July 2025
Verb
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Shapiro dexterously untangles the Gordian knot of their entwined passions, shared ambitions and business bottom lines.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
11 July 2025
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Search and rescue teams are using heavy equipment to untangle and peel away layers of trees, unearth large rocks in riverbanks and move massive piles of debris that stretch for miles in the search for the missing people.—
arkansasonline.com,
arkansasonline.com,
8 July 2025
Verb
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Once leadership alignment is resolved, P&L performance accelerates—often within a single quarter.—
Carrie Moore,
Forbes.com,
22 July 2025
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In cases against another person or business, people are often trying to win damages, which can get complicated as judges resolve who deserves a share of the money and how much.—
Bart Jansen,
USA Today,
22 July 2025
Verb
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These multiband images will help disentangle features like swirling gas and magnetic fields, painting a more dynamic, multidimensional portrait of black hole environments.—
Samantha Mathewson,
Space.com,
19 June 2025
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Regulation could also help disentangle nutrition research from Big Food funding, Dr. Zeide says.—
Erica Sloan,
SELF,
10 June 2025
Verb
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Lamine answered questions in Catalan from the Catalan press and others in Spanish, and towards the end of a press conference, he was asked about his activities away from the pitch.—
Tom Sanderson,
Forbes.com,
16 July 2025
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The agency failed to answer thousands of calls from flood survivors after allowing contracts for call-center workers to lapse one day after the disaster, according to The New York Times.—
Zoë Schlanger,
The Atlantic,
15 July 2025
Verb
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Twist hair onto the barrel, holding for a few seconds near the root, and then untwist.—
Claire Sullivan,
WWD,
3 Sep. 2019
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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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What’s more, giving yourself space to rest and introspect could help you unsnarl a problem that’s been weighing you down lately.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
22 Aug. 2022
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Supply chains have started to unsnarl, and commodity prices for oil and some grains have dipped after surging amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.—
Jeanna Smialek,
New York Times,
15 Sep. 2022
Cite this Entry
“Unravel.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unravel. Accessed 30 Jul. 2025.
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