unbend

unbend
unbend [un bend′]
vt.
unbent or unbended, unbending [ME unbenden: see UN- & BEND1]
1. to release (a bow, etc.) from strain or tension
2. to relax (the mind) from strain or effort
3. to straighten (something bent or crooked)
4. Naut.
a) to loosen or unfasten (a rope, sail, etc.)
b) to untie (a rope)
vi.
1. to become straight or less bent
2. to become free from constraint, stiffness, or severity; relax and be less formal, more natural, etc.

English World dictionary. . 2014.

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  • Unbend — Un*bend , v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Unbent}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Unbending}.] [1st pref. un + bend.] 1. To free from flexure; to make, or allow to become, straight; to loosen; as, to unbend a bow. [1913 Webster] 2. A remit from a strain or from exertion; …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Unbend — Un*bend , v. i. 1. To cease to be bent; to become straight or relaxed. [1913 Webster] 2. To relax in exertion, attention, severity, or the like; hence, to indulge in mirth or amusement. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • unbend — index condescend (deign), relent Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • unbend — (v.) to relax a bow by unstringing it, mid 13c., from UN (Cf. un ) (2) + BEND (Cf. bend) (v.). Figurative meaning to become genial, relax (1748) has a sense opposite to that of unbending inflexible, obstinate (1680s), which does not derive from… …   Etymology dictionary

  • unbend — verb a) To free from flexure; to make, or allow to become, straight; to loosen; as, to unbend a bow. He spent the afternoon shaping a swagger stick from the branch of jarrah and talking with Miss La Rue, who had sufficiently unbent toward him to… …   Wiktionary

  • unbend — UK [ʌnˈbend] / US verb [intransitive] Word forms unbend : present tense I/you/we/they unbend he/she/it unbends present participle unbending past tense unbent UK [ʌnˈbent] / US past participle unbent to become more relaxed and less strict or… …   English dictionary

  • unbend — verb (unbent; bending) Date: 13th century transitive verb 1. to free from flexure ; make or allow to become straight < unbend a bow > 2. to cause (as the mind) to relax 3. a. to unfasten (as a sail) from a spar or stay b …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • unbend — unbendable, adj. /un bend /, v., unbent or (Archaic) unbended, unbending. v.t. 1. to straighten from a bent form or position. 2. to release from the strain of formality, intense effort, etc.; relax: to unbend one s mind. 3. to release from… …   Universalium

  • unbend — verb 1 (I, T) to become straight or make something straight 2 (I) to relax and start behaving in a less formal way: She d be a lot more likeable if she d unbend a little …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

  • unbend — v. (past and past part. unbent) 1 tr. & intr. change from a bent position; straighten. 2 intr. relax from strain or severity; become affable (likes to unbend with a glass of beer). 3 tr. Naut. a unfasten (sails) from yards and stays. b cast (a… …   Useful english dictionary

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