as in to unbend
to cause to follow a line that is without bends or curls
straighten that extension cord—it should be just long enough to reach the wall outlet
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Recent Examples of straighten
With your feet and toes flexed toward you, straighten your knees to lift the weight up, squeezing your quadriceps at the top.
—
Jakob Roze, Health, 12 Aug. 2025
According to a 2016 study from The Perception Institute, one in five Black women felt social pressure to straighten their hair for work, and the majority of participants showed implicit bias against Black women's textured hair.
—Rachael O'Connor, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Aug. 2025
Make sure the tires reconnect with the road - During the skid, wait until the tires reconnect with the road and then gently straighten the wheels to regain control.
—Nc Weather Bot, Charlotte Observer, 5 Aug. 2025
But surely Rembrandt shared with Spinoza at a minimum the sense that there’s nobody here to straighten things out but us.
—Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 19 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for straighten
Jakob Roze, Health, 12 Aug. 2025
According to a 2016 study from The Perception Institute, one in five Black women felt social pressure to straighten their hair for work, and the majority of participants showed implicit bias against Black women's textured hair.
—Rachael O'Connor, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Aug. 2025
Make sure the tires reconnect with the road - During the skid, wait until the tires reconnect with the road and then gently straighten the wheels to regain control.
—Nc Weather Bot, Charlotte Observer, 5 Aug. 2025
But surely Rembrandt shared with Spinoza at a minimum the sense that there’s nobody here to straighten things out but us.
—Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 19 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for straighten
Recent Examples of Synonyms for straighten
Verb
-
The social hierarchy is unbending, but Flora knows she is destined for something greater, even though this puts her at odds with her superiors.—
Vogue,
Vogue,
29 July 2025
-
Ceaseless in his service, unbending in his dignity, and revered for his commitment to our common humanity.—
Natalie Oganesyan,
Deadline,
29 Dec. 2024
Verb
-
One fall day in 1856, a family of Eastern gray squirrels in rural New York uncurled from a cozy nest in a chestnut tree, looked around, and joined half a billion other squirrels on a multi-state walkabout.—
Christine Peterson,
Vox,
23 Dec. 2024
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Exhale, lower the bridge down, then uncurl the trunk to bring the right hip and shoulder back to the ground.—
Jen Murphy,
WSJ,
16 June 2022
Cite this Entry
“Straighten.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/straighten. Accessed 11 Sep. 2025.
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