unfold

[ uhn-fohld ]

verb (used with object)

1. to bring out of a folded state; spread or open out:

   Unfold your arms.

2. to spread out or lay open to view.
3. to reveal or display.
4. to reveal or disclose in words, especially by careful or systematic exposition; set forth; explain.

verb (used without object)

1. to become unfolded; open.
2. to develop.
3. to become clear, apparent, or known:

   The protagonist's character unfolds as the story reaches its climax.

unfold

/ ʌnˈfəʊld /

verb

1. to open or spread out or be opened or spread out from a folded state
2. to reveal or be revealed

   the truth unfolds

3. to develop or expand or be developed or expanded

Derived Forms

• unˈfolder, noun

Other Words From

• un·folda·ble adjective
• un·folder noun
• un·foldment noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of unfold¹

before 900; Middle English unfolden, Old English unfealdan; cognate with German entfalten. See un- ², fold ¹

Example Sentences

One of the greatest magic tricks I ever saw unfolded when Johnny Carson invited the illusionist Uri Geller on “The Tonight Show” to bend a spoon with his mind.

From New York Times

“I think that we all need to take a deep breath, that we need to see how this is actually going to unfold,” she said.

From Salon

"I know from my own family growing up, we had such a clear idea of the timeline of how Christmas or any tradition will unfold," he tells BBC News.

From BBC

It appeared to be a betrayal of the body as profound as the one unfolding on the nation’s political stage.

From Salon

“Retreat” is a film of few words and magnificent images, where the drama unfolds suggestively in hints and gestures, and in the pensive performances of Heiniger and Hottinger.

From New York Times

Related Words

• illustrate
• resolve
• reveal
• solve
• unravel