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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For teams, this means reducing overlap, prioritizing critical tasks and freeing people to focus on high-impact work—no more second-guessing who does what and when.—
Ricky Muddimer,
Forbes,
21 Feb. 2025
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He was released by Hamas earlier this month after 484 days of captivity, one of the 19 Israeli hostages freed alive under the January 2025 ceasefire deal.—
Mohammed Tawfeeq,
CNN,
21 Feb. 2025
Verb
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There are other storylines besides the sisters’ crusade to liberate that currency from its frozen prison as well.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
14 Feb. 2025
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Trump's announcement came shortly after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told allies that Ukraine cannot liberate all territory occupied by Russian forces and will not be given NATO security protection as part of any peace deal.—
David Brennan,
ABC News,
13 Feb. 2025
Verb
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More than two-thirds of retirees with debt carry balances on their credit cards, according to the 2024 Spending in Retirement survey, released in November by the nonprofit Employee Benefit Research Institute, or EBRI.—
Daniel de Visé,
USA TODAY,
16 Feb. 2025
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The movie will be released by A24 in the fall, with an awards season campaign in the works for Bryne.—
Patrick Brzeski,
The Hollywood Reporter,
15 Feb. 2025
Verb
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The announcement comes barely two years after Amazon rescued the series from cancellation, marking a bittersweet end to the show’s 40-year legacy.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
21 Feb. 2025
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Israeli forces have rescued eight and have recovered dozens of bodies of people killed in the initial attack or who died in captivity.—
Mohammad Jahjouh,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Everyone at the club has been holding out for the moment when new ownership arrived and the purse strings can finally be loosened.—
Patrick Boyland,
The Athletic,
14 Feb. 2025
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Honey, peppermint, licorice root, elderberry, ginger, and green tea can loosen mucus and help relieve a nagging cough.—
Julie Marks,
Verywell Health,
12 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Under this framework, any slaves coming voluntarily to Union lines were effectively emancipated.—
Scott Spillman,
The New Yorker,
29 Jan. 2025
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In 2015, at age 17, she was legally emancipated from her mother.—
Andrew Walsh,
EW.com,
22 Dec. 2024
Verb
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Capping them could save $5 billion a year, or $225 per fee-paying household.—
Daniel de Visé,
USA TODAY,
22 Feb. 2025
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Put another way, in this view, well-off people who choose to live in profligate spending states shouldn’t get to deduct state and local taxes on their federal returns, saving large amounts of money ahead of each April 15.—
David Mark,
Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government,
21 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Unchain.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unchain. Accessed 28 Feb. 2025.
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