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.

unravel

disentangle

Free from snarls

unweave · thread · fray · separate · pull apart · come undone · unbraid · untwist · pick apart · tease out

tangle

entangle

Twist into confusion

muddle · jumble · confuse · twist · fray · snag · mat · kink · web · mess

Categories
Opposites
complexity/order

ravelsuntangles

Separates what's knotted

tangles · orders · organizes · disentangles · entangles

fabric integrity

ravelsmends

Restores to function

repairs · sews · stitches · weaves · knits

Phrases
Family

unravel, ravel, unraveling, unraveled, unravels, ravelled, ravelling, raveled, raveling

Familiarity
Top 1,000,000
Profile
Used worldwide · Timeless · Concrete · Everyday, not technical · Rated G