Library / English Dictionary

UNWIND

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected form: unwound   

 I. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Cause to feel relaxed

Example:

A hot bath always relaxes me

Synonyms:

loosen up; make relaxed; relax; unlax; unstrain; unwind

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

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

affect (act physically on; have an effect upon)

Cause:

decompress; loosen up; relax; slow down; unbend; unwind (become less tense, rest, or take one's ease)

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

unbend (release from mental strain, tension, or formality)

Sentence frames:

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

Sense 2

Meaning:

Become less tense, rest, or take one's ease

Example:

Let's all relax after a hard day's work

Synonyms:

decompress; loosen up; relax; slow down; unbend; unwind

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

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

change state; turn (undergo a transformation or a change of position or action)

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

vege out; vegetate (engage in passive relaxation)

sit back; take it easy (settle into a comfortable sitting position)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody's (body part) ----s

Sense 3

Meaning:

Reverse the winding or twisting of

Example:

unwind a ball of yarn

Synonyms:

unroll; unwind; wind off

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

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

displace; move (cause to move or shift into a new position or place, both in a concrete and in an abstract sense)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s something PP

Antonym:

wind (arrange or or coil around)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Separate the tangles of

Synonyms:

disentangle; unwind

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

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

undo (cancel, annul, or reverse an action or its effect)

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

roll out; straighten (straighten by unrolling)

uncoil (unwind or untwist)

Sentence frames:

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

Credits

 Context examples: 

He unwound the handkerchief and held out his hand.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

How DNA winds and unwinds around histones is influenced by enzymes, including histone deacetylases.

(Scientists find promising drug combination against lethal childhood brain cancers, National Institutes of Health)

This allele, which encodes helicase POLQ-like protein, is involved in the modulation of DNA duplex unwinding.

(HELQ wt Allele, NCI Thesaurus)

I stood motionless, a roll of antiseptic cotton in my hand unwinding and spilling itself down to the floor.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

This gene plays a role in DNA unwinding and recombination-mediated telomere lengthening.

(BLM Gene, NCI Thesaurus)

At the DNA replication fork, a DNA helicase (DnaB or MCM complex) precedes the DNA synthetic machinery and unwinds the duplex parental DNA in cooperation with the SSB or RPA.

(DNA Replication Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/KEGG)

My watch was still unwound, and I am rigorously accustomed to wind it the last thing before going to bed, and many such details.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

The AT hook motif tethers and unwinds the minor groove of the DNA with very little specificity for the DNA sequence.

(AT Hook Motif, NCI Thesaurus)

You will want to find ways to unwind, and so look for ways throughout the month whenever you can.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

As one example, you might rent a beautiful vacation house that you will drive to on weekends throughout the year and find this to be an ideal way to unwind so that you can return to work refreshed.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)