means The process of something coming undone or falling apart, whether a knitted fabric, a plan, a mind, or a mystery slowly being solved.

from From the verb 'ravel,' which is wonderfully its own opposite — it can mean both to tangle and to untangle. 'Ravel' likely came into English in the 16th century from Dutch 'ravelen,' meaning to fray or tangle, tied to 'rafel,' a loose thread. Add the 'un-' prefix and you'd expect a reversal, but 'unravel' just doubles down on the undoing — pulling threads loose, separating what was woven. So 'unraveling' is the act of a thing returning, strand by strand, to chaos or clarity.