as in to free
to set free (as from slavery or confinement)
activists for animal rights who would like to unchain zoo animals and return them to the wild
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Recent Examples of unchain
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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unchain
Verb
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One hand is freed just long enough to hold the receiver when making phone calls.—
Milena Malaver,
Miami Herald,
9 Apr. 2025
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By eliminating or at least reducing manual, error-prone processes, these applications free up finance teams to focus on strategic initiatives like scaling operations and optimizing capital allocation.—
Carlos Vega,
Forbes.com,
9 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Photo: Courtesy of Hannah Jackson Eighty years ago today, on April 11, 1945, Morris was liberated from the Buchenwald concentration camp in Weimar, Germany.—
Hannah Jackson,
Vogue,
11 Apr. 2025
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In liberating Hollywood movies from the social context, younger viewers also liberated them from their commercial roots, from the very notion of popularity, which was central to Kael’s understanding of the art of movies.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
8 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
The Glory in Your Story: Activating a Fearless Faith to Change Your Life, Your Career, and the World, is set to release on April 15, wherever books are sold.—
Victoria Uwumarogie,
Essence,
14 Apr. 2025
-
Marcelle Bacchus, McAlmont's aunt, said in an April 11 Facebook post that the victim's body was supposed to be released from a mortuary on April 10 but was not released due to a spelling error with his name.—
Audrey Conklin,
FOXNews.com,
14 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Hundreds had to be rescued, and most of the deaths were caused by vehicles getting stuck in high water.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
9 Apr. 2025
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All five people were rescued and transported to Bay Area Hospital with minor injuries.—
Charna Flam,
People.com,
8 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
Systems built on power, fear, and control are reacting because their grip is beginning to loosen.—
Ingmar Rentzhog,
Forbes.com,
12 Apr. 2025
-
Grey's Anatomy's vice-like grip on the medical drama genre is loosening with The Pitt, a thrilling and impeccably researched new Max series set in a Pittsburgh emergency room.—
Randall Colburn,
EW.com,
11 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Jefferson later maintained that any decision to emancipate slaves must be part of a democratic process and not handed down by, say, executive order.—
Faith Karimi,
CNN Money,
29 Mar. 2025
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At the age of 14, Culkin emancipated himself from his parents.—
Janelle Ash,
Fox News,
14 Mar. 2025
Verb
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If projections around the tariffs’ impact are correct, then getting some shopping done now could save you time and money later.—
Sara Coughlin,
SELF,
10 Apr. 2025
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California family discusses ongoing legal and political battle to 'save girls' sports' as issue heats up Taylor and Ryan Starling of Riverside, California discussed their ongoing lawsuit over trans inclusion in girls' sports, speaking at the state capital and all the fallout that has come with it.—
Jackson Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
10 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Unchain.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unchain. Accessed 20 Apr. 2025.
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