Library / English Dictionary

RAVEL

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected forms: ravelled    , ravelling   

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A row of unravelled stitches

Example:

she got a run in her stocking

Synonyms:

ladder; ravel; run

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Hypernyms ("ravel" is a kind of...):

damage; harm; impairment (the occurrence of a change for the worse)

Derivation:

ravel (tangle or complicate)

ravel (disentangle)

Sense 2

Meaning:

French composer and exponent of Impressionism (1875-1937)

Synonyms:

Maurice Ravel; Ravel

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Instance hypernyms:

composer (someone who composes music as a profession)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Tangle or complicate

Example:

a ravelled story

Synonyms:

knot; ravel; tangle

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "ravel" is one way to...):

enlace; entwine; interlace; intertwine; lace; twine (spin, wind, or twist together)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s something PP

Antonym:

unravel (become or cause to become undone by separating the fibers or threads of)

unravel (disentangle)

Derivation:

ravel (a row of unravelled stitches)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Disentangle

Example:

can you unravel the mystery?

Synonyms:

ravel; ravel out; unravel

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "ravel" is one way to...):

disentangle; straighten out; unsnarl (extricate from entanglement)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

ravel (a row of unravelled stitches)

raveling; ravelling (a bit of fiber that has become separated from woven fabric)

Credits