unchain

verb

un·​chain ˌən-ˈchān How to pronounce unchain (audio)
unchained; unchaining; unchains

transitive verb

: to free by or as if by removing a chain : set loose
unchain workers from their desks

Examples of unchain in a Sentence

activists for animal rights who would like to unchain zoo animals and return them to the wild
Recent Examples on the Web When Henson refused to unchain herself from the fence, California Highway Patrol arrested her. Kate Talerico, The Mercury News, 7 Aug. 2024 Max eventually unchains himself and helps Furiosa in her quest to free the cult leader's wives, gaining mutual respect along the way. Ew Staff, EW.com, 3 July 2024 Van Gogh had unchained it from its age-old funereal associations and reinvented it as a tour de force of emotional connection and nurturance. Deborah Solomon, New York Times, 11 May 2023 The Shambala Center would unchain our brains Through mindfulness, yoga, and chanted refrains. Nate Anderson, Ars Technica, 1 Apr. 2023 On Wednesday, the rescuers carefully lifted the shed enough to reach Bubbles and unchain the dog. Kelli Bender, PEOPLE.com, 3 Sep. 2021 The feds give an official exemption to Nuro, a company working on small self-driving cars—a sign that regulators are willing to unchain autonomous vehicles from the old rules. Aarian Marshall, Wired, 9 Feb. 2020 Police say the three protesters had the ability to unchain themselves from the equipment but refused. USA TODAY, 13 Sep. 2019 This most recent stretch includes half of his six big league homers, moments in which Naylor’s unchained enthusiasm for the game has teammates tripping over themselves to get out of his way. San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Aug. 2019

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'unchain.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1582, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of unchain was in 1582

Dictionary Entries Near unchain

Cite this Entry

“Unchain.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unchain. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

unchain

verb
un·​chain ˌən-ˈchān How to pronounce unchain (audio)
ˈən-
: to free by or as if by removing a chain : set loose
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