Synonyms of unfolding

unfolding

verb

present participle of unfold

1

as in expanding

to arrange the parts of (something) over a wider area

carefully unfold that antique map so that it doesn't tear

Synonyms & Similar Words

• expanding
• opening
• extending
• unfurling
• spreading (out)
• stretching (out)
• flaring (out)
• fanning (out)
• outspreading
• outstretching
• overspreading

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• closing
• folding
• contracting
• reducing
• condensing
• compressing
• compacting

2

as in evolving

to gradually become clearer or more detailed

as the situation unfolded, it became clear that more help would be needed

the movie became more interesting once the mystery began to unfold

Synonyms & Similar Words

• evolving
• progressing
• growing
• developing
• proceeding
• elaborating
• emerging
• blossoming
• maturing
• ripening
• marching
• forging
• getting along
• advancing
• getting on
• faring
• playing out
• materializing

3

as in blooming

to produce flowers

the rosebud unfolded literally overnight

Synonyms & Similar Words

• blooming
• flowering
• blossoming
• burgeoning
• blowing
• leaving
• efflorescing
• leafing
• budding
• opening

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• fading
• dying
• withering
• drying up
• dropping
• expiring
• wilting
• shriveling
• perishing

4

as in appearing

to come into view

the majestic landscape unfolded before us

Synonyms & Similar Words

• appearing
• showing
• coming
• looming
• arriving
• rising
• happening
• materializing
• coming out
• emerging
• reappearing
• turning up
• showing up
• occurring
• erupting
• surfacing
• arising
• blossoming
• dawning
• resurfacing
• issuing
• bulking
• shooting (up)
• breaking out
• outcropping
• springing (up)
• breaking
• cropping (up)
• bobbing (up)
• debuting
• rematerializing

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• going (away)
• vanishing
• disappearing
• dissolving
• evaporating
• fading
• melting (away)
• clearing
• leaving
• evanescing
• withdrawing
• departing
• retiring

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of unfolding

But the true test of Turning Point Action's clout was unfolding inside the exhibition center, where staff members were registering voters, handing out buttons and signing people up for social events. — ABC News, 5 Sep. 2026

Precious little of anything survives from a millennium ago, let alone textile, let alone narrative textile, hundreds of feet of it, unfolding in scene after scene with the colors still crisp. — John Phipps, New Yorker, 5 Sep. 2026

The exercise was just the tip of the iceberg in what’s unfolding across the country. — Elizabeth Robinson, NBC news, 4 Sep. 2026

For them, the discovery of the living world is still unfolding. — Clare Mulroy, USA Today, 2 Sep. 2026

Delicate blossoms were unfolding on an avocado tree in our garden. — The Christian Science Monitor, Christian Science Monitor, 2 Sep. 2026

In the real economy, a very different contest has been unfolding. — Alia Noor, Forbes.com, 1 Sep. 2026

Nine hundred kilometers to the south of Hainan’s neighboring construction sites, and an ocean away, a very different story has been unfolding at Hinkley Point C in Somerset, England. — Interesting Engineering, 31 Aug. 2026

Monday’s bloody rampage unfolding on a summer afternoon in the heart of the city left witnesses in shock. — Kerry Burke, New York Daily News, 31 Aug. 2026