Definition of ravel

• v. t. - To separate or undo the texture of; to take apart; to untwist; to unweave or unknit; -- often followed by out; as, to ravel a twist; to ravel out a stocking.
• v. t. - To undo the intricacies of; to disentangle.
• v. t. - To pull apart, as the threads of a texture, and let them fall into a tangled mass; hence, to entangle; to make intricate; to involve.
• v. i. - To become untwisted or unwoven; to be disentangled; to be relieved of intricacy.
• v. i. - To fall into perplexity and confusion.
• v. i. - To make investigation or search, as by picking out the threads of a woven pattern.