unleashed; unleashing; unleashes
1
: to free from or as if from a leash : let loose
unleash the dogs
unleashing his anger
2
: to throw, shoot, or set in motion forcefully
… unleashed a superb shot … to earn his side a point.—
The New York Times
The New York Times3
: to allow or cause (something powerful) to happen suddenly
The storm unleashed its fury.
The editorial unleashed a flood/torrent of angry responses.
Examples of unleash in a Sentence
The storm unleashed its fury.
The editorial unleashed a torrent of angry responses.
Recent Examples on the Web
The eruption was similar in some ways to those unleashed by our sun, such as the solar storms that graced the night skies with auroras last week on Earth, but at a much grander — and ominous — scale.
—Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 16 Nov. 2025
Democrats eyeing the 2028 elections are using the fallout from the longest government shutdown in history to draw a sharper contrast with the party’s aging Senate leadership, unleashing unusually blunt criticism of the compromise that helped reopen the government.
—Samantha-Jo Roth, The Washington Examiner, 14 Nov. 2025
Depending on the venue, WWE fans can unleash some brutal chants during Raw, SmackDown, or the premium live events.
—Matthew Couden, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Nov. 2025
Epstein’s estate provided the committee with thousands of documents, several of which Democrats released early Wednesday before Republicans unleashed the 20,000.
—Miami Herald, 14 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unleash
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 16 Nov. 2025
Democrats eyeing the 2028 elections are using the fallout from the longest government shutdown in history to draw a sharper contrast with the party’s aging Senate leadership, unleashing unusually blunt criticism of the compromise that helped reopen the government.
—Samantha-Jo Roth, The Washington Examiner, 14 Nov. 2025
Depending on the venue, WWE fans can unleash some brutal chants during Raw, SmackDown, or the premium live events.
—Matthew Couden, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Nov. 2025
Epstein’s estate provided the committee with thousands of documents, several of which Democrats released early Wednesday before Republicans unleashed the 20,000.
—Miami Herald, 14 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unleash
Cite this Entry
“Unleash.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unleash. Accessed 19 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
unleash
verb
un·leash
ˌən-ˈlēsh 
: to free from or as if from a leash
unleash a dog
the storm unleashed its fury
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share