unbend
verb/ʌnˈbɛnd/
Etymology From Middle English unbenden, equivalent to un- + bend.
7 senses
- 1To remove a bend so as to make, or allow to become, straight.
- 2To release (a load) from a strain or from exertion; to…
- 3To unfasten sails from the spars or stays to which are…
- 4To cast loose or untie
- 5To cease to be bent; to become straight.
- 6To relax in exertion, attention, severity, or the like
- 7to enjoy oneself; to become affable and free from formality
1
To remove a bend so as to make, or allow to become, straight.
- to unbend a bow
- He leant tensely against the corridor wall and frowned like a man trying to unbend a corkscrew by telekinesis.1982, Douglas Adams, Life, the Universe and Everything, page 61:
2
To release (a load) from a strain or from exertion; to set at ease for a time; to relax.
- to unbend the mind from study or care
- You do unbend your noble strength.c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii]:
4
To cast loose or untie
- Unbend the rope.
5
To cease to be bent; to become straight.
6
To relax in exertion, attention, severity, or the like
- 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 notice his existence.1918 September–November, Edgar Rice Burroughs, “The Land That Time Forgot”, in The Blue Book Magazine, Chicago, Ill.: Story-press Corp., →OCLC; republished as chapter VI, in Hugo Gernsback, editor, Amazing Stories, (please specify |part=I to III), New York, N.Y.: Experimenter Publishing, 1927, →OCLC:
7
Archaic to enjoy oneself; to become affable and free from formality