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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In the month following Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack and Hamas's seizing of hundreds of Israeli hostages, Francis had prayed they would soon be freed and called for dialogue.—
Josh Hammer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
21 Apr. 2025
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Four months into his second term, the sprint is on: SAB 121 is gone, freeing banks from punitive capital rules on digital‑asset custody; April’s bill scrapped the nightmare cost‑basis paperwork for DeFi; and the DOJ has shuttered its crypto task force, vowing to chase scammers, not software.—
Crypto Confidential,
Forbes.com,
21 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Another endangered fish, northern tidewater gobies, were rescued from the same watershed shortly before the steelhead were liberated.—
Lila Seidman,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Apr. 2025
-
Just as my ancient and modern ancestors found freedom from oppression, so can each of us be liberated from today’s challenges by crafting a future built on deeds of lovingkindness.—
Maria Zimina,
New York Daily News,
20 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
August reservations will be released on July 1 and so on.—
Eve Chen,
USA Today,
29 Apr. 2025
-
No other information about the incident was released.—
David Matthews,
New York Daily News,
29 Apr. 2025
Verb
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To protect a batch of sea turtle eggs from possible poachers, the group rescued them and hatched them in a lab before releasing 100 baby sea turtles into the ocean.—
Terry Baddoo,
USA Today,
22 Apr. 2025
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The two swimmers were rescued and released after being checked by medics.—
Josh Hammer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
21 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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And many Virginians who owned enslaved people were terrified that the British were going to emancipate their enslaved labor.—
Ari Daniel,
Smithsonian Magazine,
17 Apr. 2025
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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
Verb
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Bobby manages to save Chimney, who falls ill and starts coughing up blood while responding to the lab blaze.—
Taijuan Moorman,
USA Today,
23 Apr. 2025
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Knowing which plants that are tricky to grow from seed will save you time, effort, and frustration Growing plants from seeds is a fun way to participate in the life cycle.—
Lauren David,
Southern Living,
22 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Unchain.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unchain. Accessed 1 May. 2025.
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