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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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.
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
-
Of the survivors, Superman works with Raven to find Constantine and help locate Robin, who’s on a quest to free Batman from slavery.—
Will Harris,
Entertainment Weekly,
6 Sep. 2025
-
His fellow firefighters, including Gallagher —who was injured during the rescue — used extra manpower and tools to free him before he was stabilized at the scene and flown by CareFlite to the hospital, the department said.—
Shambhavi Rimal,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Others – like Boris – are liberated by it.—
David Lyman,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
4 Sep. 2025
-
Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, Ozon diverges from the text in a few key places to offer a postcolonial reading of a novel that was published two decades before Algeria liberated itself from French rule.—
Jordan Mintzer,
HollywoodReporter,
2 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
On Tuesday, 85 scientists released a 459-page rebuttal to the DOE report, highlighting a large body of scientific literature pointing to how climate change can exacerbate droughts, floods, crop failures, and other disasters.—
Robert Schmad,
The Washington Examiner,
7 Sep. 2025
-
The panel studying those cases released a report last year describing how the state child welfare agency missed warning signs and failed to protect dozens of children from dying of the illicit drug.—
Laura Bauer,
Kansas City Star,
7 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
So, there are still chances that the AHRQ could get rescued at some point by the House of Representatives.—
Bruce Y. Lee,
Forbes.com,
9 Sep. 2025
-
The girl’s mom got into a kayak, paddled out to the sinking canoe and rescued her daughter, but her boyfriend went underwater, deputies said.—
Jennifer Rodriguez,
Kansas City Star,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Burns went on to loosen monetary policy and help the president secure re-election in ’72.—
Allison Morrow,
CNN Money,
5 Sep. 2025
-
The texture on the towel will help loosen and remove water spots.—
Mary Catherine McAnnally Scott,
Southern Living,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Some of the cattle roaming the marsh are rumored to be the feral descendants of herds emancipated two decades ago by Hurricane Katrina, which made landfall about five miles upriver.—
Nathaniel Rich,
Harpers Magazine,
20 Aug. 2025
-
The federal government's few attempts to transition the recently emancipated into the postwar economy were inadequate, historians believe.—
Andrea Riquier,
USA Today,
8 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
The two wanted the Power of Veto winner to use the ability to keep Panaro, but instead, the winner saved themselves.—
Dina Kaur,
AZCentral.com,
4 Sep. 2025
-
For engineers and designers, this framework is like giving a GPS map through the complex terrain of foam design—saving months of trial-and-error testing.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
4 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Unchain.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unchain. Accessed 11 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share