UNBEND (unbent)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected form: unbent   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does unbend mean? 

• UNBEND (verb)
  The verb UNBEND has 6 senses:

1. straighten up or out; make straight

2. unfasten, as a sail, from a spar or a stay

3. free from flexure

4. make less taut

5. become less tense, rest, or take one's ease

6. release from mental strain, tension, or formality

  Familiarity information: UNBEND used as a verb is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• UNBEND (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they unbend    ... he / she / it unbends   
Past simple: unbended    / unbent   
Past participle: unbended    / unbent   
-ing form: unbending   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Straighten up or out; make straight

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Synonyms:

straighten; unbend

Hypernyms (to "unbend" is one way to...):

change posture (undergo a change in bodily posture)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s something

Sense 2

Meaning:

Unfasten, as a sail, from a spar or a stay

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "unbend" is one way to...):

unfasten (cause to become undone)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 3

Meaning:

Free from flexure

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Context example:

unbend a bow

Hypernyms (to "unbend" is one way to...):

straighten; straighten out (make straight)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Antonym:

bend (cause (a plastic object) to assume a crooked or angular form)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Make less taut

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

relax; unbend

Context example:

relax the tension on the rope

Hypernyms (to "unbend" is one way to...):

loose; loosen (make loose or looser)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "unbend"):

unbrace (remove from tension)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Sense 5

Meaning:

Become less tense, rest, or take one's ease

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Synonyms:

decompress; loosen up; relax; slow down; unbend; unwind

Context example:

Let's all relax after a hard day's work

Hypernyms (to "unbend" is one way to...):

change state; turn (undergo a transformation or a change of position or action)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "unbend"):

vege out; vegetate (engage in passive relaxation)

sit back; take it easy (settle into a comfortable sitting position)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody's (body part) ----s

Sentence example:

Sam and Sue unbend

Sense 6

Meaning:

Release from mental strain, tension, or formality

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Context example:

unbend the mind from absorbing too much information

Hypernyms (to "unbend" is one way to...):

loosen up; make relaxed; relax; unlax; unstrain; unwind (cause to feel relaxed)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

 Context examples 

"You unbend your forehead at last," said Mr. Rivers.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

He thinks of nothing else save when, as an intellectual exercise, he unbends if I call upon him and ask him to advise me on one of my little problems.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I took the hand she held out with a dignified, unbending air, and it was as calm in mine as if her breast had been at peace.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

When I took the steering-oar I had first to unbend her cramped fingers.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

The shaggy eyebrows unbent a little as he rolled the steps toward the shelf where the Johnsonian literature was placed.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

They worked harshly in their sockets, with much friction, and each bending or unbending was accomplished only through a sheer exertion of will.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

She felt it to be so, though she had not foreseen, and could hardly understand it; for he was not pleasant by any common rule: he talked no nonsense; he paid no compliments; his opinions were unbending, his attentions tranquil and simple.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

She did unbend a little.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Never, even in the company of his dear friends at Netherfield, or his dignified relations at Rosings, had she seen him so desirous to please, so free from self-consequence or unbending reserve, as now, when no importance could result from the success of his endeavours, and when even the acquaintance of those to whom his attentions were addressed would draw down the ridicule and censure of the ladies both of Netherfield and Rosings.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

This man, whose name was Beaufort, was of a proud and unbending disposition and could not bear to live in poverty and oblivion in the same country where he had formerly been distinguished for his rank and magnificence.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)