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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But the original poster disagreed, arguing that the line was in fact freeing.—
Raja Krishnamoorthi,
MSNBC Newsweek,
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
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The president is not required to release the results of his annual physical exam, according to the Associated Press.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
14 Apr. 2025
-
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
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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Now, the man who cuckolded him has also rescued him from certain death.—
Amanda Whiting,
Vulture,
8 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Compliance Gets Hyperlocal There is a tendency when reading headlines about sweeping changes to major regulatory initiatives to look only at the top-line effects — federal regulation is loosening — and the assumption that this will make compliance less burdensome.—
Mary Foley,
Forbes.com,
17 Apr. 2025
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Idaho’s 1-to-6 ratio for infants remains in place, but the ratios were loosened for all older children.—
Rachel Cohen,
Vox,
17 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 22 Apr. 2025.
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