ravels
Threads start separating
Ravels is the third-person singular of ravel, a verb with opposite meanings that somehow coexist.
To ravel is to tangle or become tangled: The yarn raveled into knots.
But ravel also means to untangle or fray—threads ravel at a cut edge, mysteries ravel out into clarity.
Context usually makes the direction clear, though unravel has largely taken over the untangling sense.
Free from snarls
- untangleUndo knots or confusion
- loosenReduce tension or grip
- unwindRelease accumulated tension
- unweaveUndo woven fabric
thread · fray · separate · pull apart · come undone · unbraid · untwist · pick apart
disentangle
Free from snarls
unweave · thread · fray · separate · pull apart · come undone · unbraid · untwist · pick apart · tease out
entangle
Twist into confusion
- knotTied rope fastening
- snarlHostile vocal threat
- complicateMake more difficult
muddle · jumble · confuse · twist · fray · snag · mat · kink · web · mess
- textile scrapsfabric scraps, lint, scraps, cuttings, clippings