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Glite Dictionary
raveling

raveling

8.8
A loose thread that comes out of woven cloth
  • noun
  • /ˈrævəlɪŋ/
  • US
translation icon : hilo suelto
  • The child's coat was left with a raveling thread hanging from the sleeve.

Examples

  • As I examined the blanket, I found a raveling that needed to be fixed.

  • Jerked again and felt the raveling laces begin to give.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • I snag the old man's raveling cardigan off the back-porch nail, wrap up like a secret, and slip out through the root cellar, past the crab apple full of jays who suddenly cry my name, and enter the rutty field.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • I noticed a raveling from my sweater after it got caught on a nail.

Synonyms

snag
vsraveling
3 4.1

A small tear or pull in fabric caused by catching

is a small loose fiber or loop rather than larger fabric damage
snaggle
vsraveling
9.1

A small loose loop of thread that sticks out of cloth

is a single loose thread that has come away from the woven fabric

How Loose

snag
3 4.1
raveling
  • US
8.8

Surface Forms

raveling singular
ravelings plural
ravellings plural
ravelling singular

Morphology

raveling = ravel (transparent) = ravel + ing

Formed by the verb 'ravel' plus the noun-forming '-ing' (gerund/participle); the meaning 'a loose thread' is a straightforward resultive/deverbal reading.

Etymology

Raveling comes from an old word meaning 'to fray' or 'to tangle' threads in cloth and is the same root you see in unravel. So, a raveling is a small loose thread that has 'come undone' from the fabric.