unfold
Americanverb (used with object)
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to bring out of a folded state; spread or open out.
Unfold your arms.
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to spread out or lay open to view.
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to reveal or display.
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to reveal or disclose in words, especially by careful or systematic exposition; set forth; explain.
verb (used without object)
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to become unfolded; open.
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to develop.
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to become clear, apparent, or known.
The protagonist's character unfolds as the story reaches its climax.
verb
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to open or spread out or be opened or spread out from a folded state
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to reveal or be revealed
the truth unfolds
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to develop or expand or be developed or expanded
Other Word Forms
- unfoldable adjective
- unfolder noun
- unfoldment noun
Etymology
Origin of unfold
before 900; Middle English unfolden, Old English unfealdan; cognate with German entfalten. See un- 2, fold 1
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.
The podcast is just one piece of a much larger creative surge unfolding in Cudi’s orbit.
From Los Angeles Times
Others have struggled to make their needs understood, or found that the encounter unfolded in a way that unintentionally caused further harm.
From Los Angeles Times
As a result, the genome began to unfold, but not evenly.
From Science Daily
Which might help explain how last year unfolded.
Legendary street artist and activist Shepard Fairey was omnipresent at the High Desert Art Fair, which unfolded in and around Pioneertown over two unseasonably hot days last weekend.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
