Dictionary

unfurl en · VERB

Pronunciation

• /ʌnˈfəːl/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /ʌnˈfɝl/ (General-American)
• (Australia) audio

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂ent- Proto-Indo-European *-s Proto-Indo-European *h₂éntsder. Proto-Germanic *anda- Proto-West Germanic *anda- Old English and- Old English on- Middle English on- English un- English furl English unfurl From un- + furl.

Meanings

1. To unroll or release something that had been rolled up, typically a sail or a flag.
   • BEHIND him lay the gray Azores, / Behind the Gates of Hercules; / Before him not the ghost of shores, / Before him only shoreless seas. // The good mate said: “Now must we pray, / For lo! the very stars are gone. / Brave Admiral, speak, what shall I say?” / “Why, say, ‘Sail on! sail on! and on!’” “My men grow mutinous day by day; / My men grow ghastly wan and weak.” / The stout mate thought of home; a spray / Of salt wave washed his swarthy cheek. // “What shall I say, brave Admiral, say, / If we sight naught but seas at dawn?” / “Why, you shall say at break of day, / ‘Sail on! sail on! sail on! and on!’” They sailed and sailed, as winds might blow, / Until at last the blanched mate said: / “Why, now not even God would know / Should I and all my men fall dead. // These very winds forget their way, / For God from these dread seas is gone. / Now speak, brave Admiral, speak and say”— / He said: “Sail on! sail on! and on!” They sailed. They sailed. Then spake the mate: / “This mad sea shows his teeth to-night. / He curls his lip, he lies in wait, / With lifted teeth, as if to bite! // Brave Admiral, say but one good word: / What shall we do when hope is gone?” / The words leapt like a leaping sword: / “Sail on! sail on! sail on! and on!” Then, pale and worn, he kept his deck, / And peered through darkness. Ah, that night / Of all dark nights! And then a speck— / A light! A light! A light! A light! // It grew, a starlit flag unfurled! / It grew to be Time’s burst of dawn. / He gained a world; he gave that world / Its grandest lesson: “On! sail on!” 1892, Joaquin Miller, Columbus
   • They unfurled the flag at the start of the festival.
   • Release the line by pulling down and unfurl the jib by pulling on the two jibsheets. (Can we date this quote?), “RS Quest Rigging Instructions”, in California State University, Sacramento, page 2:
2. (figuratively) To roll out or debut anything.
   • Befitting the gray-brown clothes, bagged eyes, and licorice hair of its figures, Memoir Of A Snail unfurls the spiraling tale of two orphans persevering on Australia’s fringes. 2024 October 23, Jacob Oller, “Clay weepy Memoir Of A Snail crawls through a gauntlet of misery”, in AV Club:
   • When will we be unfurling the new feature?
3. (intransitive) To open up by unrolling.
4. (figuratively, intransitive) To turn out or unfold; to evolve; to progress.

Forms

Antonyms

furl (antonym(s) of “to unroll or release”) · roll (antonym(s) of “to unroll or release”)

Deriveds

unfurlable

Synonyms

splay

Translations (36)

fi aukaista (to unroll or release) · bg разгъвам (to unroll or release) · nl ontrollen (to unroll or release) · it spiegare (to unroll or release) · de entrollen (to unroll or release) · no folde ut (to unroll or release) · fi esitellä (to roll out or debut) · he הוֹצִיא לָאוֹר (to roll out or debut) · fi avata (to unroll or release) · fr déployer (to unroll or release) · ru развора́чивать (to unroll or release) · he שִׁחְרֵר (to roll out or debut) · la explicō (to unroll or release) · nl uitrollen (to unroll or release) · es lagar (to unroll or release) · no rulle ut (to unroll or release) · bg развявам (to unroll or release) · es desplegar (to unroll or release) · fr dérouler (to unroll or release) · pt desfraldar (to unroll or release) · pl rozwijać (to unroll or release) · de entfalten (to unroll or release) · it srotolare (to unroll or release) · ro desfășura (to unroll or release) · ga scaoil (to unroll or release) · he גִּלָּה (to turn out or unfold) · sv veckla ut (to unroll or release) · nl ontvouwen (to unroll or release) · fi julkistaa (to roll out or debut) · mi tākiri (to unroll or release) · gl despregar (to unroll or release) · ru развёртывать (to unroll or release) · eo malvolvi (to unroll or release) · de aufrollen (to unroll or release) · pl rozwinąć (to unroll or release) · nl afrollen (to unroll or release)