unstrung

[ uhn-struhng ]

verb

1. simple past tense and past participle of unstring.

adjective

1. having the string or strings loosened or removed, as a bow or harp.
2. weakened or nervously unhinged, as a person or a person's nerves; unnerved; discomposed:

   The incident left him unstrung.

unstrung

/ ʌnˈstrʌŋ /

adjective

1. emotionally distressed; unnerved
2. (of a stringed instrument) with the strings detached

Word History and Origins

Origin of unstrung¹

First recorded in 1590–1600, for the adjective

Example Sentences

Mr. Fitzsimons, a recreational trapper, was also carrying a six-foot-long unstrung archery bow and a fur pelt draped across his neck.

From New York Times

He also wore a fur pelt around his neck and carried an unstrung wooden archery bow.

From Washington Times

A whole row of unstrung bows in varying stages of repair or build rested on a worktable, and hundreds of bushels of arrows were stacked into pyramids on the floor beside them.

From Literature

He described his emotional state as “unstrung, debilitated by grief,” and he walked daily from his home in Boston, where he was then a junior church minister, to visit her tomb in Roxbury.

From Washington Post

He can be seen hurling his unstrung bow into the tunnel, striking the helmet of D.C.

From Washington Post