RAVEL (ravelled, ravelling)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected forms: ravelled    , ravelling   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does Ravel mean? 

• RAVEL (noun)
  The noun RAVEL has 2 senses:

1. French composer and exponent of Impressionism (1875-1937)

2. a row of unravelled stitches

  Familiarity information: RAVEL used as a noun is rare.

• RAVEL (verb)
  The verb RAVEL has 2 senses:

1. disentangle

2. tangle or complicate

  Familiarity information: RAVEL used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• RAVEL (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

French composer and exponent of Impressionism (1875-1937)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

Maurice Ravel; Ravel

Instance hypernyms:

composer (someone who composes music as a profession)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A row of unravelled stitches

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Synonyms:

ladder; ravel; run

Context example:

she got a run in her stocking

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

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

Derivation:

ravel (tangle or complicate)

ravel (disentangle)

• RAVEL (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they ravel    ... he / she / it ravels   
Past simple: raveled    / ravelled   
Past participle: raveled    / ravelled   
-ing form: raveling    / ravelling   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Disentangle

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

ravel; ravel out; unravel

Context example:

can you unravel the mystery?

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)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Tangle or complicate

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

knot; ravel; tangle

Context example:

a ravelled story

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)

 Context examples 

What I have purposed to record is nearly finished; but there is yet an incident conspicuous in my memory, on which it often rests with delight, and without which one thread in the web I have spun would have a ravelled end.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)