unpen

[ uhn-pen ]

verb (used with object)

, un·penned, un·pen·ning.

1. to release from confinement.

Word History and Origins

Origin of unpen¹

First recorded in 1585–95; un- ² + pen ²

Example Sentences

Unpen, un-pen′, v.t. to free from captivity.

From Project Gutenberg

There are who lord it o’er their fellow-men With most prevailing tinsel; who unpen Their baaing vanities to browse away The comfortable green and juicy hay From human pastures; or, oh torturing fact!

From Project Gutenberg

There are who lord it o'er their fellow-men With most prevailing tinsel: who unpen Their baaing vanities, to browse away The comfortable green and juicy hay From human pastures; or, O torturing fact!

From Project Gutenberg

Yet, wherefore, then "Rise, and go up to Bethlehem," and unpen To wolf and jackal all their hapless fold So they might "see these things which had been told In heaven's own voice"?

From Project Gutenberg