Join Us On

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

Spanish Central

Browse Dictionary Browse Thesaurus

Get our free apps!iPhone•iPad•Android

Word of the Day

Blog: Words at Play

Thesaurus

unravel

verb

Synonyms and Antonyms of UNRAVEL

1

to separate the various strands of <it took us forever to unravel the jumbled mass of Christmas tree lights>

Synonyms disentangle, ravel (out), unbraid, unlay, unsnarl, untangle, untwine, untwist, unweave

Related Words fray, fret; smooth, straighten (out); uncoil, undo, unknot, unlace, unroll, unstring, unthread, untie, unwind

Near Antonyms braid, knot, lace, plait, ply, splice, tie, wind

Antonyms entangle, snarl, tangle

2

to find an answer for through reasoning <unraveled the mystery>

Synonyms answer, break, crack, dope (out), figure out, puzzle (out), resolve, riddle (out), unravel, unriddle, work, work out

Related Words conclude, decide, deduce, gather, infer, judge, reason; clear (up), iron out, straighten (out), unscramble, untangle, untie; assume, conjecture, divine, guess, presume, speculate; decipher, decode

Learn More About

Dictionary: Definition of "unravel"

Spanish Central: Spanish translation of "unravel"

Nglish: Translation of "unravel" for Spanish speakers

Britannica English: Translation of "unravel" for Arabic speakers

Browse

Seen & Heard

What made you want to look up unravel? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

View Seen & Heard Highlights from Around the Site

Test Your Vocabulary!

10 Charming Words for Nasty People

Put-downs with flair

When "Literally" isn't, well, literal

How to use a word that (literally) drives some people nuts.

Know what this is?

Test your vocab with our fun, fast game

Ailurophobia, and 9 other unusual fears

Join Us

Merriam-Webster
on Facebook

Merriam-Webster
on Twitter

Bookstore: Digital and Print

Merriam-Webster references for Mobile, Kindle, print, and more.

See All

Other Merriam-Webster Dictionaries

© Merriam-Webster, Incorporated