unbraid

[ uhn-breyd ]

verb (used with object)

1. to separate (anything braided, as hair) into the several strands.

Word History and Origins

Origin of unbraid¹

First recorded in 1820–30; un- ² + braid

Example Sentences

There’s a lot of unbraiding you have to do.

From Los Angeles Times

Carefully I unbraided each of the Devil’s Shoestrings he had woven together.

From Literature

But the most fruitful aspect of the film may be its themes, which unbraid and retwist the threads and conventions of the damsel-in-distress narrative even as they superficially follow them.

From Washington Post

Now, however, the women’s movement seems to be unbraiding that identity.

From Washington Post

Without trust, without confidences, family members unbraid themselves from each other and drift apart.

From Seattle Times

Related Words

• detach
• disengage
• emancipate
• extricate
• unravel
• unscramble
• untangle
• untie