English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
The world is unraveling Unraveling Such a mad, mad reckoning The world is unraveling The world is unraveling Unraveling Such a mad, mad reckoning The world is unraveling Oh oh oh oh Oh oh oh oh Oh oh oh oh Oh oh oh oh My oh my We're in the final act Can’t fight the tide The sea is turning black No one is coming out of this unscathed. I was Unraveling All that we never knew That could have been me and you But you took everything Now we're just here Unraveling What have we become The hopeless tonight and I think its over We hope to find the truth still breathing Can we survive the low I want the world to see You sold a broken dream You were not there for me I was Unraveling.
From un- + ravel. Compare Dutchontrafelen(“to unravel”).
Pronunciation[edit]
- IPA(key): /ʌnˈɹævəl/
- Rhymes: -ævəl
Verb[edit]
unravel (third-person singular simple presentunravels, present participleunravellingor(US)unraveling, simple past and past participleunravelledor(US)unraveled)
- (transitive) To separate the threads (of); disentangle.
- Stop playing with the seam of the tablecloth! You'll unravel it.
- Mother couldn't unravel the ball of wool after the cat had played with it.
- (intransitive) (of threads, etc.) To become separated; (of something woven, knitted, etc.) to come apart.
- 1820, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Prometheus Unbound, London: C. & J. Ollier, Act II, Scene 1, p. 63,[1]
- […] the burning threads
- Of woven cloud unravel in pale air:
- 2015, Lesley Nneka Arimah, “Who Will Greet You at Home,” The New Yorker, 26 October, 2015,[2]
- The yarn baby lasted a good month […] before Ogechi snagged its thigh on a nail and it unravelled as she continued walking […]
- 1820, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Prometheus Unbound, London: C. & J. Ollier, Act II, Scene 1, p. 63,[1]
- (transitive,figuratively) To clear from complication or difficulty; to unfold; to solve.
- 1683, John Dryden, “Life of Plutarch” in Plutarchs Lives, Volume 1, London: Jacob Tonson, p. 9,[3]
- […] he disputed best, and unravell’d the difficulties of Philosophy with most success when he was at Supper, and well warm’d with Wine.
- 1887, Arthur Conan Doyle, A Study in Scarlet, Chapter 5,[4]
- I left Holmes seated in front of the smouldering fire, and long into the watches of the night I heard the low, melancholy wailings of his violin, and knew that he was still pondering over the strange problem which he had set himself to unravel.
- to unravel a plot
- to unravel a mystery
- to unravel the confusion
- 1683, John Dryden, “Life of Plutarch” in Plutarchs Lives, Volume 1, London: Jacob Tonson, p. 9,[3]
- (transitive,figuratively) To separate the connected or united parts of; to throw into disorder; to confuse.
- (Can we date this quote by Dryden and provide title, author's full name, and other details?)
- Art shall be conjured for it, and nature all unravelled.
- to unravel the global compromise achieved in the Constitutional Treaty
- to unravel the broad consensus which was created
- (Can we date this quote by Dryden and provide title, author's full name, and other details?)
- (intransitive,figuratively) To become undone; to collapse.
- 2010, Ian Cowie, 'State pension Ponzi scheme unravels with retirement at 70', The Telegraph, June 24th, 2010,
- The great Ponzi scheme that lies behind our State pension is unravelling – as they all do eventually – because money being taken from new investors is insufficient to honour promises issued to earlier generations.
- 2010, Ian Cowie, 'State pension Ponzi scheme unravels with retirement at 70', The Telegraph, June 24th, 2010,
Usage notes[edit]
The spellings unraveling and unraveled are primarily US while unravelling and unravelled are primarily UK, other Commonwealth countries, and Ireland.
Synonyms[edit]
- (separate the threads of):disentangle, unsnarl
- (clear from complication):solve, unriddle
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
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(of something woven, knitted, etc.) to come apart — seecome apart
to clear from complication or difficulty; to unfold; to solve
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to separate the connected or united parts of; to throw into disorder; to confuse
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Anagrams[edit]
- venular, vulnera
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