Dictionary

unloose en · VERB

Pronunciation

• /ˌən-/ (General-American)
• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˌʌnˈlus/ (General-American)
• /(ˌ)ʌnˈluːs/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

From Middle English unlosen (“to loosen, untie; to uncover, unwrap; to extend; to free, liberate, release; to disengage; to detach oneself; to make (someone) weak; to abolish; to destroy”) [and other forms], from un- (intensifying prefix) + losen (“to free, let loose, release; to loosen, untie; to come undone or unfastened; to open; to relax; to remove; to melt; to resolve; to break up, disintegrate; to detach, disengage; to destroy; to say, tell; to absolve of sin”) (from los (“free; loose, untied; exempt; absolved of sin; inattentive, undisciplined; of the tongue: lacking restraint, unbridled; limp, weak; wavering”), from Old Norse lauss (“loose”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *lewH- (“to separate; to set free; to untie”)). The English word is analysable as un- (intensifying prefix) + loose. Compare Middle English unlesen (“to loosen, release”), from Old English onlīesan (“to release, deliver, liberate, unloose”).

Meanings

1. (also, figuratively, transitive) To loosen or undo (something that entangles, fastens, holds, or interlocks).
   • [T]here was plenty of opportunity to modernise in the years up to 1939, but since then the Second World War and its aftermath of expenditure rigidly controlled by Government held up any progress until at last the purse-strings were unloosed five years ago. But an enormous amount of leeway needs to be made up. 1960 April, Cecil J. Allen, “Locomotive Running Past and Present”, in Trains Illustrated, London: Ian Allan Publishing, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 209:
   • I abide not the imposition of hands—take off your grasp from my cloak, or I will find means to make you unloose it. 1822, [Walter Scott], chapter VIII, in Peveril of the Peak. […], volume IV, Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co., →OCLC, page 192:
   • Death opens the gate of fame, and ſhuts the gate of envy after it,—it unlooſes the chain of the captive, and puts the bondſman’s taſk into another man's hands. 1762, [Laurence Sterne], chapter III, in The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, volume V, London: […] T. Becket and P. A. Dehondt, […], →OCLC, page 34:
   • […] There commeth one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose ſhooes I am not worthy to ſtoupe downe, and vnlooſe. 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Mark 1:7, column 2:
   • Forgetting his disgust, Brice tore away the shirt and unloosed the belt. It was saturated with water like the rest of the clothing, but its pocket seemed heavy and distended. In another instant he had opened it, and discovered the envelope containing the packet of greenbacks, its seal still inviolate and unbroken. It was the stolen treasure! 1900, Bret Harte, “A Niece of Snapshot Harry’s. Chapter II.”, in From Sand Hill to Pine, Boston, Mass.; New York, N.Y.: Houghton, Mifflin and Company […], →OCLC, page 64:
   • Turne him to any Cauſe of Pollicy, / The Gordian Knot of it he will vnlooſe, / Familiar as his Garter: […] 1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life of Henry the Fift”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i], page 70, column 1:
   • [S]uch ſmiling rogues as theſe, / Like Rats oft bite the holy cords a twaine, / Which are t' intrince, t' vnlooſe: […] c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii], page 292, column 1:
2. (also, figuratively, transitive) To relax or slacken (something that clasps or grips, such as the arms or hands).
3. (transitive) To free (someone or something) from a constraint; (figuratively) to release (something which has been suppressed, such as emotions or objectionable things).
   • Thus did the melancholy Tale conclude, / And a ſhort, ſilent Interval ensu'd. / The next in Birth unlooſ'd her artful Tongue, / And drew attentive all the Siſter-Throng. 1717, Laurence Eusden, “Book IV. [The Story of Pyramus and Thisbe.]”, in Ovid’s Metamorphoses in Fifteen Books. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, page 109:
   • Then Yorke vnlooſe thy long impriſoned thoughts, / And let thy tongue be equall with thy heart. 1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i], page 144, column 1:
   • He would weep again, his heart insisted, for now his weeping had begun; he would rage again, said the shifting air, for the lions of rage had been unloosed; he would be in darkness again, in fire again, now that he had seen the fire and the darkness. 1953, James Baldwin, Go Tell It on the Mountain, New York, N.Y.: Dell Publishing Co., published October 1970, →OCLC, part 3 (The Threshing-floor), page 216:
   • Press on! for it is godlike to unloose / The spirit, and forget yourself in thought; / Bending a pinion for the deeper sky, / And in the very fetters of your flesh, / Mating with the pure essences of heaven! 1827, N[athaniel] P[arker] Willis, “Extract from a Poem Delivered at the Departure of the Senior Class of Yale College, in 1826”, in Sketches, Boston, Mass.: S[amuel] G[riswold] Goodrich, […], →OCLC, page 92:
4. (archaic, transitive) To remove or take off (especially something undesirable).
5. (intransitive) To become loose or come off.
6. (also, figuratively, intransitive) To free from a constraint.

Forms

Deriveds

unlooser

Synonyms

untie · unclasp · set free · unfasten · unloosen · detach · let go · liberate · loose · disengage · unleash · vent · detach