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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Then, in March, an appeals court acquitted Lee, freeing him to campaign in the snap election.—
Jong Eun Lee,
The Conversation,
29 May 2025
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While that might not be for everyone, the principle stands: Fewer low-stakes choices free up capacity for high-impact thinking.—
Jacob Kupietzky,
Forbes.com,
28 May 2025
Verb
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How did One Piece season 1 end? Season 1 of Netflix's One Piece adaptation ended with Luffy and the Straw Hat gang liberating Nami's hometown of Coco Village from Arlong (McKinley Belcher III), the spiky-nosed fish-man with hopes of turning the village into a fish-men empire.—
Randall Colburn,
EW.com,
30 May 2025
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In World War II, people liberated from Axis occupation welcomed Allied troops.—
Arthur I. Cyr,
Chicago Tribune,
27 May 2025
Verb
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An Arizona murderer was sentenced to life plus 10 years in prison on May 27 after killing a second person only 16 days after he was released in 2020, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Arizona.—
Christina Shaw,
FOXNews.com,
3 June 2025
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Generic drugs, which are designed to provide the same therapeutic effects as brand-name ones and are released after their patents expire, account for 90% of all prescriptions in the US.—
John Liu,
CNN Money,
3 June 2025
Verb
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Not long after that, Garland also rescued Dangermouse, whose eye had to be removed at around 12 weeks old due to an infection.—
Alyce Collins,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 May 2025
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Israeli forces have rescued eight and recovered dozens of bodies.—
Wafaa Shurafa,
Los Angeles Times,
28 May 2025
Verb
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Stir in chicken stock and wine, scraping bottom of pan to loosen any browned bits.—
Ann Taylor Pittman,
Southern Living,
5 June 2025
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The ruling Wednesday evening marked the latest setback for Apple in its long-running legal battle with Epic Games, which first sued the iPhone maker in 2020 in an attempt to force Apple to loosen its grip on purchases in apps that utilize its iOS operating system.—
Morgan Chittum,
CNBC,
5 June 2025
Verb
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The 'Modern Family' star faced challenges growing up, including emancipating from her mother at 17.—
Gillian Telling,
People.com,
9 May 2025
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Somehow, this respectable foe of radicalism had organized the political realignment that broke up the Union, sustained the war that overthrew the South’s ruling class, and managed the struggle that emancipated its proletariat.—
Matthew Karp,
Harpers Magazine,
29 Apr. 2025
Verb
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His defensive metrics rank among the worst out of all qualified third basemen, with -7 outs above average and -8 defensive runs saved.—
Abbey Mastracco,
New York Daily News,
28 May 2025
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Both teams had their first two penalties saved, before Steaua eventually got themselves together to score two… which was enough because Barca missed all four of theirs.—
Nick Miller,
New York Times,
28 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Unchain.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unchain. Accessed 10 Jun. 2025.
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