as in to free
to set free (as from slavery or confinement)
activists for animal rights who would like to unchain zoo animals and return them to the wild
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Recent Examples of unchain
When Henson refused to unchain herself from the fence, California Highway Patrol arrested her.
—
Kate Talerico, The Mercury News, 7 Aug. 2024
Max eventually unchains himself and helps Furiosa in her quest to free the cult leader's wives, gaining mutual respect along the way.
—Ew Staff, EW.com, 3 July 2024
Van Gogh had unchained it from its age-old funereal associations and reinvented it as a tour de force of emotional connection and nurturance.
—Deborah Solomon, New York Times, 11 May 2023
The Shambala Center would unchain our brains Through mindfulness, yoga, and chanted refrains.
—Nate Anderson, Ars Technica, 1 Apr. 2023
On Wednesday, the rescuers carefully lifted the shed enough to reach Bubbles and unchain the dog.
—Kelli Bender, PEOPLE.com, 3 Sep. 2021
The feds give an official exemption to Nuro, a company working on small self-driving cars—a sign that regulators are willing to unchain autonomous vehicles from the old rules.
—Aarian Marshall, Wired, 9 Feb. 2020
Police say the three protesters had the ability to unchain themselves from the equipment but refused.
—USA TODAY, 13 Sep. 2019
This most recent stretch includes half of his six big league homers, moments in which Naylor’s unchained enthusiasm for the game has teammates tripping over themselves to get out of his way.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Aug. 2019
Kate Talerico, The Mercury News, 7 Aug. 2024
Max eventually unchains himself and helps Furiosa in her quest to free the cult leader's wives, gaining mutual respect along the way.
—Ew Staff, EW.com, 3 July 2024
Van Gogh had unchained it from its age-old funereal associations and reinvented it as a tour de force of emotional connection and nurturance.
—Deborah Solomon, New York Times, 11 May 2023
The Shambala Center would unchain our brains Through mindfulness, yoga, and chanted refrains.
—Nate Anderson, Ars Technica, 1 Apr. 2023
On Wednesday, the rescuers carefully lifted the shed enough to reach Bubbles and unchain the dog.
—Kelli Bender, PEOPLE.com, 3 Sep. 2021
The feds give an official exemption to Nuro, a company working on small self-driving cars—a sign that regulators are willing to unchain autonomous vehicles from the old rules.
—Aarian Marshall, Wired, 9 Feb. 2020
Police say the three protesters had the ability to unchain themselves from the equipment but refused.
—USA TODAY, 13 Sep. 2019
This most recent stretch includes half of his six big league homers, moments in which Naylor’s unchained enthusiasm for the game has teammates tripping over themselves to get out of his way.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Aug. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unchain
Verb
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This frees up invaluable human time to shape creative ideas and make strategic decisions on where audiences are most likely to engage.—
Derya Matras,
Fortune,
4 Oct. 2025
-
Addressing my trauma really is freeing.—
Stephanie Nolasco,
FOXNews.com,
4 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Uranus retrograde in your sign on the 6th may cause some unexpected twists, but these changes are meant to liberate you from old ways of thinking and being.—
Meghan Rose,
Glamour,
1 Oct. 2025
-
The film opens in an immigration detention camp, as a band of left-wing political militants known as the French 75 infiltrate the facility to liberate the detained, and detain the military overseers.—
Katie Walsh,
Twin Cities,
26 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
According to figures from a housing assessment released this April, the median house value in Fayetteville has grown 275% in the last two decades, and the median gross rent has increased 78%.—
Juan Cordoba,
Arkansas Online,
5 Oct. 2025
-
In the lead-up to the tournament, Argentina had played a series of friendlies without him, since Valencia refused to release him.—
Michael Cox,
New York Times,
5 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Season 3 picks up with the Monster Association arc, as S-class heroes band together to rescue a hostage taken by monsters claiming affiliation with the villainous organization.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
7 Oct. 2025
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According to motorists who helped firefighters rescue the passengers of the Airbus E130 helicopter on the eastbound lanes of Highway 50, Smith had been pinned beneath the helicopter and was not responsive when she was taken to UCDMC.—
Graham Womack,
Sacbee.com,
7 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The commonwealth has been without an operational freestanding birthing center since the 1980s, said Mary Kathryn DeLodder, director of the Kentucky Birth Coalition — a grassroots organization that led the charge in advocating for legislation loosening regulations for the facilities.—
Killian Baarlaer,
Louisville Courier Journal,
3 Oct. 2025
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That's because the city has a history of shifting on this issue, from when pursuits were restricted following bystander deaths, and then loosened in response to carjackings and reckless driving in the city.—
David Clarey,
jsonline.com,
3 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
This is well over a dozen years before Black people are declared emancipated.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
25 Sep. 2025
-
In the Revolutionary War itself, Britain’s Lord Dunmore had emancipated large numbers of southern slaves as a war measure—a fact well-known in both the 1770s and the 1860s.—
Akhil Reed Amar,
Time,
22 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Blood is always poised and ready to clot, because the body sees this as a life-saving mechanism.—
Bryant Stamford,
Louisville Courier Journal,
2 Oct. 2025
-
Is intuitive budgeting effective for saving money?—
Andreina Rodriguez,
CNBC,
1 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Unchain.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unchain. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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