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
The nationwide standalone 5G that the carrier announced Wednesday essentially unchains that service from 4G LTE, allowing devices to connect to the network without first requiring a setup via AT&T’s older and slower network.
—
PC Magazine, 9 Oct. 2025
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
PC Magazine, 9 Oct. 2025
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unchain
Verb
-
If confirmed by future research, the approach could provide a powerful new weapon to fight heart disease, the nation's leading killer, freeing people from the need to take statins and other cholesterol-lowering drugs every day.—
NPR,
NPR,
8 Nov. 2025
-
No-kill is about giving every pet in a shelter a fair chance and proving that with the right policies and practices in place, managing animal shelters doesn’t require killing dogs and cats simply to free up space.—
Scott Giacoppo,
Boston Herald,
8 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Lawrence is liberated from anything resembling propriety or self-consciousness here.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
6 Nov. 2025
-
Owen predicted the coming of a new order that would liberate Americans from their plight.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
5 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
While the identities of the victims have not yet been released by authorities, the victims were all adults.—
Hollie Silverman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 Nov. 2025
-
Lionsgate released the first official teaser trailer for the forthcoming Michael Jackson biopic, Michael, on Thursday.—
Lexi Carson,
HollywoodReporter,
8 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Directed by Paddy Wivell and originally distributed by Fremantle, Hell Jumper tells the story of civilian volunteers risking their lives to rescue people trapped by the war in Ukraine.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
11 Nov. 2025
-
The possibility of a season-rescuing win would be front of mind for the Scuderia.—
Alex Kalinauckas,
New York Times,
11 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Our clean energy and wildfire prevention efforts are saving billions—both in disaster costs and everyday bills.—
MSNBC Newsweek,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 Nov. 2025
-
My father had two superpowers that saved him in the face of all those failures—his talent for telling stories and gardening.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
5 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
When drivers are operating the vehicles, the wheel’s seating surface may deform, causing the wheel nut to loosen and detach, leading to the wheel separating from the vehicle.—
Saleen Martin,
USA Today,
7 Nov. 2025
-
Gently remove the plant from its pot and loosen the roots.—
Kim Toscano,
Southern Living,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Even those who emancipated the theory from complex numbers admit that the latter are a natural fit.—
Daniel Garisto,
Quanta Magazine,
7 Nov. 2025
-
Fox taught that the Inner Light emancipates a person from adherence to any creed, ecclesiastical authority or ritual forms.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
5 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Unchain.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unchain. Accessed 16 Nov. 2025.
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