unthaw

verb

un·thaw ˌən-ˈthȯ

unthawed; unthawing

transitive + intransitive

: thaw

A fuel station operator apparently caused the 5:30 a.m. blast by using an open flame to unthaw a frozen tank valve …—

Associated Press

Escape the winter freeze and unthaw in beautiful tropical settings …—

Business Wire

Note: Although unthaw as a synonym of thaw is sometimes cited as an illogical error, it has persisted in occasional use for more than four centuries. It occurs in both American and British English.

Examples of unthaw in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Homeowners can try to run hot water into their sinks in hopes of warming a frozen sewage line, but should otherwise call a professional to help carefully unthaw the lines. —

Zaz Hollander, Anchorage Daily News, 6 Jan. 2022 The Texas Republican backlash to Biden has already begun, with Cruz’s comments and a lawsuit by Attorney General Ken Paxton to unthaw the Homeland Security Department’s freeze of deportations of immigrants in the country without authorization. —

Gromer Jeffers Jr., Dallas News, 25 Jan. 2021 Sergei Fyodorov, a researcher at North-Eastern Federal University, tells the AP that climate change is affecting the Siberian permafrost, meaning people are finding more and more ancient creatures unthawing. —

Jason Daley, Smithsonian, 3 Dec. 2019 Forget about unthawing chicken, boiling noodles or throwing in a pizza June 6. —

Hannah Kirby, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 4 June 2018 The super-soldier serum allowed him to stay alive, and SHIELD unthaws him. —

Sonia Rao, chicagotribune.com, 24 Apr. 2018 Normally, there's about a 75% survival rate when unthawing frozen embryos. —

Susan Scutti, CNN, 19 Dec. 2017

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'unthaw.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.