UNLEASH

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does unleash mean? 

• UNLEASH (verb)
  The verb UNLEASH has 3 senses:

1. release or vent

2. release from a leash

3. turn loose or free from restraint

  Familiarity information: UNLEASH used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• UNLEASH (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they unleash    ... he / she / it unleashes   
Past simple: unleashed   
Past participle: unleashed   
-ing form: unleashing   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Release or vent

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Context example:

unleash one's anger

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

let go; let go of; release; relinquish (release, as from one's grip)

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

uncork (release)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 2

Meaning:

Release from a leash

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Context example:

unleash the dogs in the park

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

let go; let go of; release; relinquish (release, as from one's grip)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Sense 3

Meaning:

Turn loose or free from restraint

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

let loose; loose; unleash

Context example:

Loose terrible plagues upon humanity

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

let go; let go of; release; relinquish (release, as from one's grip)

Sentence frames:

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

 Context examples 

The pathways they would typically use to fight infection create inflammation, unleashing a chemical cascade which impacts insulin and glucose metabolism.

(When Liver Immune Cells Turn Bad, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

However, some tumor cells are resistant to the destruction unleashed by T cells.

(A new study identifies essential genes for cancer immunotherapy, National Institutes of Health)

These observations provide insight into the volatile behavior of comets as they approach the sun and begin to vaporize, unleashing dynamical forces.

(Hubble Takes Close-up Look at Disintegrating Comet, NASA)

Thousand-year-old tropical soils unearthed by accelerating deforestation and agricultural land use could be unleashing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, according to a new study at Florida State University.

(Tropical soil disturbance could be hidden source of carbon dioxide, National Science Foundation)

The insecticide was then unleashed in a purpose-built 6,550-square-foot ‘village’ in Burkina Faso, containing huts, plants, and breeding pools, and covered in netting to stop the insects escaping.

(Genetically modified fungus hailed as malaria breakthrough, SciDev.Net)