Word forms: ravels, raveling, ravelling, raveled, ravelled
transitive verb/intransitive verb
If something such as a rope or wire ravels, or if you ravel it, it becomes tangled or twisted together.'
I felt her hand in my hair, fingers toying with the locks at my neck, raveling themup, tugging.
ravel in British English
(ˈrævəl)
verbWord forms: -els, -elling, -elledWord forms: US-els, -eling or -eled
1.
to tangle (threads, fibres, etc) or (of threads, fibres, etc) to become entangled
2. (often foll by out)
to tease or draw out (the fibres of a fabric or garment) or (of a garment or fabric) to fray out in loose ends; unravel
3. (transitive; usually foll byout)
to disentangle or resolve
to ravel out a complicated story
4.
to break up (a road surface) in patches or (of a road surface) to begin to break up; fret; scab
5. archaic
to make or become confused or complicated
noun
6.
a tangle or complication
Derived forms
raveller (ˈraveller) or US raveler (ˈraveler)
noun
ravelly (ˈravelly)
adjective
Word origin
C16: from Middle Dutch ravelen
Ravel in British English
(French ravɛl)
noun
Maurice (Joseph) (mɔris). 1875–1937, French composer, noted for his use of unresolved dissonances and mastery of tone colour. His works include Gaspard de la Nuit (1908) and Le Tombeau de Couperin (1917) for piano, Boléro (1928) for orchestra, and the ballet Daphnis et Chloé (1912)