unravel

(ŭn-răv'əl)

v., -eled, or -elled, -el·ing, or -el·ling, -els, or -els.

v.tr.

1. 1. To undo or ravel the knitted fabric of.
   2. To separate (entangled threads).
2. To separate and clarify the elements of (something mysterious or baffling); solve. See synonyms at solve.

v.intr.
To become unraveled.

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has inflected forms unravelled, unravelling in British English and usually unraveled, unraveling in American English. In current English it is likely to have a figurative meaning, either (1) 'to solve (a mystery or puzzle)' or (2) in intransitive use, 'to fail or collapse', the image being of a scheme or enterprise that begins to come apart in the manner of a piece of woolen clothing:

No other army could have done better. If it all unravels it won't be their fault—Mirror, 2007.

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verb

To find a solution for: clear up, decipher, explain, resolve, solve. Informal dope out, figure out. Idioms: get to the bottom of. See ask/answer, reason/unreason.

  See crossword solutions for the clue Unravel.

Dansk (Danish)
v. tr. - rede ud, trævle op, pille op
v. intr. - opklaret, udredt

Nederlands (Dutch)
(zich) ontwarren, (ont-/uit)rafelen, oplossen

Français (French)
v. tr. - défaire, démêler, dénouer (une intrigue)
v. intr. - se défaire, se démêler, se dénouer (une action)

Deutsch (German)
v. - (sich) entwirren, aufziehen

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - ξεφτώ, ξετυλίγω/-ομαι, ξεμπερδεύω/-ομαι, ξεμπλέκω/-ομαι, ξηλώνω/-ομαι, διευκρινίζω, ξεδιαλύνω

Italiano (Italian)
sbrogliare, dipanare, districare

Português (Portuguese)
v. - desenredar, desemaranhar

Русский (Russian)
распутывать, разгадывать

Español (Spanish)
v. tr. - desentrañar, aclarar, desenredar, desenmarañar, deshacer, deshilar
v. intr. - desenredarse, deshilarse

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - riva upp, repa upp, reda ut

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
阐明, 解开, 解释, 散开

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
v. tr. - 闡明, 解開, 解釋
v. intr. - 散開

한국어 (Korean)
v. tr. - (얽힌 실 등을) 풀다, 해결하다, (이야기 등을) 결말짓다
v. intr. - 풀어지다, 해결되다

日本語 (Japanese)
v. - 解く, ほぐす, 解明する, ほぐれる, 解明される

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) نسل, حل, انحل‏

עברית (Hebrew)
v. tr. - ‮התיר, פרם, דבלל, פתר, הבהיר, פענח‬
v. intr. - ‮נפרם, הותר‬

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