unravelv.
/(ˌ)ʌnˈravl/, U.S. /ˌənˈrævəl/ 1.
a. transitive. To cause to be no longer ravelled, tangled, or intertwined, to disentangle; to unweave or undo (a fabric, esp. a knitted one). Frequently in figurative context.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > curvature > coil > uncoiling or unwinding > uncoil or unwind [verb (transitive)] > untwine or untwist
untwinec1407
outtwinea1500
untwist1538
unknit1599
unravel1603
ravel1607
spret1832
the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > separation > separation or detachment > loosening or unfastening > loosen, unfasten, or untie [verb (transitive)] > untwist, unravel, etc.
untwinec1407
unlacea1450
untwindc1460
untwist1538
unweave1542
distwine1562
feaze1568
unpleat1572
unspin1587
unplat1589
unwreathe1591
unreave1593
unravel1603
ravel1607
unwrithe1611
uncluea1616
unwork1623
unperplex1660
untwirla1703
unlay1726
disentwine1814
unbraid1828
unmesha1849
disintertwine1861
unplait1865
tiffle out1880
unleeze1889
1603 T. Dekker 1603: Wonderfull Yeare sig. E3 She..vnraueld the bottome [sc. ball of thread] of her frailtie at length.
1639 T. Fuller Hist. Holy Warre iv. i. 166 Frederick..unravelled the fair web of John Brens victory, even to the very hemme thereof.
1655 N. N. America i. x. 177 The Silk-masters unravelling again the whole web, or bag of silk, which the dead Artist hath wrought, order it according to their own skill.
1727 P. Longueville Hermit 193 He was oblig'd to unravel some of the Sail.
1768 A. Tucker Light of Nature Pursued II. i. 229 As often happens in trying to unravel an entangled thread, while they loosen the knot in one place they draw it tighter in another.
1856 C. Kingsley in N. Brit. Rev. 26 78 To unravel patiently the tangled web of good and evil.
1883 H. N. Martin & W. A. Moale Handbk. Vertebr. Dissect. 143 Unravel the small intestine, cutting it away from the mesentery.
1919 P. G. Wodehouse Their Mutual Child ii. vii. 213 Too impatient to unravel the tangled knot, he had cut it.
1970 A. Tyler Slipping-Down Life xi. 133 She stepped into last night's clothes and went to the mirror to unravel her pincurls.
2002 Cult Times Apr. 48/1 The show's tangled web of conspiracy is unravelled.
2008 Daily Tel. 13 Feb. 18/7 Unravelling the mass of wires found behind computer desks.
b. intransitive. To become undone, disentangled, or unravelled. Frequently figurative or in extended use.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > destroy [verb (intransitive)] > be destroyed, ruined, or come to an end
losec888
fallOE
forlesea1225
perishc1275
spilla1300
to go to wreche13..
to go to the gatec1330
to go to lostc1374
miscarryc1387
quenchc1390
to bring unto, to fall into, to go, put, or work to wrakea1400
mischieve?a1400
tinea1400
to go to the devilc1405
bursta1450
untwindc1460
to make shipwreck1526
to go to (the) pot1531
to go to wreck (and ruin)a1547
wrake1570
wracka1586
to hop (also tip, pitch over, drop off, etc.) the perch1587
to lie in the dusta1591
mischief1598
to go (etc.) to rack (and ruin)1599
shipwreck1607
suffera1616
unravel1643
to fall off1684
tip (over) the perch1699
to do away with1769
to go to the dickens1833
collapse1838
to come (also go) a mucker1851
mucker1862
to go up1864
to go to squash1889
to go (to) stramash1910
to go for a burton1941
to meet one's Makera1978
the world > space > shape > curvature > coil > uncoiling or unwinding > become uncoiled or unwound [verb (intransitive)]
uncurl1594
outwind1596
ravel1603
unravel1643
unwind1656
unreel1749
to wind off1760
unwrap1833
uncoil1854
reel1906
the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > separation > separation or detachment > loosening or unfastening > be loosened, unfastened, or undone [verb (intransitive)] > become untwisted or unravelled
feazea1577
untwind1592
untwine1592
to weave out1641
run1642
unravel1815
disentwine1875
1643 T. Fuller Serm. preached at Collegiat Church 23 That his curtesies might not unravell or fret out, [he] hath bound them with a strong border, and a rich fringe.
1656 T. Watson One Thing Necessary 53 Our life doth unravell apace.
1664 H. More Apol. in Modest Enq. Myst. Iniquity 566 As if to leave the Church of Rome were at last to unravel into a mere canting Paganism.
1744 E. Young Complaint: Night the Sixth 9 In an Eternity, what Scenes shall strike?..What Webs of Wonder shall unravel, there?
1768 A. Tucker Light of Nature Pursued II. ii. 321 My vehicle did not begin to unravel like a torn stocking.
1815 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art II. 533 The stuff..will not unravel when it is cut.
1820 P. B. Shelley Prometheus Unbound ii. i. 63 As the burning threads Of woven cloud unravel in pale air.
1898 W. K. Johnson Terra Tenebrarum 108 Her hair, the wonderful web, unravelled.
1937 F. M. Ford Portraits from Life 171 As if someone had cut the key string of a net, they all unravelled.
1986 B. Whitaker Rainbow Warrior xviii. 269 One [cartoon] even showed Hernu, the defence minister, half-naked as his knitted pullover unravelled.
2013 New Yorker 15 Apr. 74/3 As the grand alliance unravelled, the bill languished in the Senate.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > change > change to something else, transformation > change of direction, reversion > change back [verb (transitive)]
reversea1393
converta1425
undo1426
unmakec1450
recommencea1513
unweave1542
mismake1575
resubstantiate1584
unspin1587
remit1591
retrievea1596
remetamorphose1598
remorphize1603
reconvert1609
unlive1621
unravel1637
relapse1652
to bring about1680
uncoin1833
unpay1842
reset1846
revert1856
unweb1882
1637 J. Shirley Example iii. sig. D2 Everie time thou admitst mee after, to thy Pillow, I'le strike of an hundred pound, Till all the debts be unravel'd.
1670 J. Dryden & W. Davenant Shakespeare's Tempest iv. 66 All my designs are ruin'd And unravell'd by this blow.
1673 R. Allestree Ladies Calling i. iv. §10 I wish they would..unravel that injurious mirth by a penitential sadness.
1710 S. Palmer Moral Ess. Prov. 382 One season let slip, breaks the series of our conduct, unravels the order of life.
1762 H. Walpole Vertue's Anecd. Painting I. iv. 54 Though at last He wofully unravelled most of the pursuits of his early age.
1766 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. II. 248 After the land had descended to his issue, they would not unravel the matter again, and suffer his estate to be shaken.
3. transitive. To make plain, disclose, reveal; to investigate and solve (a mystery, etc.), to work out. Also reflexive.In quot. 1637 intransitive, with object implied.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > meaning > explanation, exposition > expound, explain [verb (transitive)]
arecchec885
unloukOE
overrunOE
sutelec1000
trahtnec1000
unfolda1050
belayc1175
openc1175
onopena1200
accountc1300
undo?a1366
remenea1382
interpret1382
unwrap1387
exploitc1390
enlumine1393
declarec1400
expoundc1400
unplait?c1400
enperc1420
planea1425
clearc1440
exponec1440
to lay outc1440
to give (also carry) lightc1449
unwind1482
expose1483
reducea1500
manifest1530
explicate1531
explaina1535
unlock?1536
dilucidate1538
elucidate1538
illustrate1538
rechec1540
explicate1543
illucidate1545
enucleate1548
unsnarl1555
commonstrate1563
to lay forth1577
straighten1577
unbroid1577
untwist1577
decipherc1586
illuminate1586
enlighten1587
resolvec1592
cipher1594
eliquidate1596
to take (a person) with one1599
rivelc1600
ravel1604
unbowel1606
unmist1611
extricate1614
unbolta1616
untanglea1616
enode1623
unperplexa1631
perspicuate1634
explata1637
unravel1637
esclarea1639
clarify1642
unweave1642
detenebrate1646
dismystery1652
undecipher1654
unfork1654
unparadox1654
reflect1655
enodate1656
unmysterya1661
liquidatea1670
recognize1676
to clear upa1691
to throw sidelight on1726
to throw (also cast, shed) light on (also upon)1731
eclaircise1754
irradiate1864
unbraid1880
predigest1905
to get (something) straight1920
disambiguate1960
demystify1963
1637 J. Shirley Gamester i. sig. A4v You must unravell agen, and make your wife Beleeve you did but try her.
?1649 H. Hammond Of Reasonableness Christian Relig. Introd. 5 Thus have some men taught themselves the skill, and dexterity of unravelling principles.
1660 Bp. J. Taylor Ductor Dubitantium I. i. iv. Rule 2 §22 A religion that would..unravel all the intrigues of hearts.
1709 R. Steele Tatler No. 178. ⁋1 With these..Passages..[he] was breaking his Brains Day and Night to..unravel their Sense.
1791 T. Paine Rights of Man 108 In a few days..the plot unravelled itself.
1827 E. Bulwer-Lytton Falkland i. 23 I unravelled the intricacies which knit servility with arrogance.
1863 A. P. Stanley Lect. Jewish Church I. xiii. 295 As the story unravels itself.
1884 A. R. Pennington Wiclif vi. 188 Unravelling difficult questions of theology.
1922 A. Conan Doyle in Strand Mag. 216/2 It was no very simple matter to unravel her plot.
1963 A. Moorehead Cooper's Creek iii. 32 He unravelled the mystery of the maze at Hampton Court in ten minutes.
2009 Sci. Amer. (U.K. ed.) Aug. 63/2 Efforts to unravel the cause or causes of high-temperature superconductivity.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2014; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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