unbend
Americanverb (used with object)
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to straighten from a bent form or position.
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to release from the strain of formality, intense effort, etc.; relax.
to unbend one's mind.
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to release from tension, as a bow.
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Nautical.
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to loose or untie, as a sail or rope.
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to unfasten from spars or stays, as sails.
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verb (used without object)
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to relax the strictness of formality or ceremony; act in an easy, genial manner.
Imagine him unbending!
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to become unbent; straighten.
verb
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to release or be released from the restraints of formality and ceremony
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informal to relax (the mind) or (of the mind) to become relaxed
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to become or be made straightened out from an originally bent shape or position
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(tr) nautical
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to remove (a sail) from a stay, mast, yard, etc
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to untie (a rope, etc) or cast (a cable) loose
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Other Word Forms
- unbendable adjective
Etymology
Origin of unbend
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
All she has is forward momentum, her unbending will and the small, somber boy at her side.
From New York Times
We saw him a few months later at the Trump White House, on the mend, smiling and unbending in his will to keep handguns, not to mention assault rifles, cheap and plentiful.
From Salon
The beetle then contracts a softer, more elastic cuticle which acts against the latch, attempting to unbend itself.
From Salon
Consumer groups in opposition, however, see Apple as particularly unbending and protective over its devices.
From Seattle Times
He said the duke “defined British dignity and grace” and “personified the quiet reserve, stern fortitude, and unbending integrity of the United Kingdom”.
From The Guardian
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
