unknit

[ uhn-nit ]

verb (used with object)

, un·knit·ted or un·knit, un·knit·ting.

1. to untie or unfasten (a knot, tangle, etc.); unravel (something knitted); undo.
2. to weaken, undo, or destroy.
3. to smooth out (something wrinkled).

verb (used without object)

, un·knit·ted or un·knit, un·knit·ting.

1. to become undone.

unknit

/ ʌnˈnɪt /

verb

1. to make or become undone, untied, or unravelled
2. tr to loosen, weaken, or destroy

   to unknit an alliance

3. rare.
   tr to smooth out (a wrinkled brow)

Other Words From

• un·knitta·ble adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of unknit¹

before 1000; Middle English unknytten, Old English uncnyttan. See un- ², knit

Example Sentences

And now he unknit his black brows; looked down, smiling at me, and stroked my hair, as if well pleased at seeing a danger averted.

From Literature

Larger dishes are simple, gratifying arrangements of meat, be it lamb chops, dark and thrilling, with the tips of their bones nearly charred through; knobs of ground beef, burnished chicken thigh or lamb torn off the shank, the flesh still harboring an instinct to resist; or lamb korma, the lamb left to unknit itself in a pot of yogurt, tomatoes and onions kept seething until they weep sugar.

From New York Times

In the scorbutic body, as connective tissue fails, long-healed broken bones unknit themselves, and legs cramp so severely that the person cannot walk.

From Slate

His bones unknit and clattered to the asphalt in a heap.

From Literature

Will they both, unknit from their sides, be carried away to Limbo by some blast of strange doctrine?

From Project Gutenberg