Definition of "ravel" [rav•el]

• To separate the fibers or threads of (cloth, for example); unravel. (verb-transitive)
• To clarify by separating the aspects of. (verb-transitive)
• To tangle or complicate. (verb-transitive)
• To become separated into its component threads; unravel or fray. (verb-intransitive)
• To become tangled or confused. (verb-intransitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "This attachment is also called a ravel or raivel; and folk-names for it (not in the dictionary) were wrathe and rake; the latter a very good descriptive title."
• "Even if you are not a fan of big breasts wielded by tiny, multilingual women, my feeling about you is that you will appreciate their dusky fleshiness and call your ravel agent, as they say in Italy, pronto."
• "The partisans assured us that it was quite safe to ravel along the edge of the valley, although I did not like the idea as now our chances of getting through looked fairly sound and thought a little extra caution at this stage would pay."