unclasp
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
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to become unclasped, as the hands or arms.
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to release or relax the grasp.
verb
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(tr) to unfasten the clasp of (something)
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to release one's grip (upon an object)
Other Word Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have unclaspedperfect
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has unclaspedperfect 3rd person singular
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have been unclaspingperfect progressive
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is unclaspingprogressive 3rd person singular
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am unclaspingprogressive 1st person singular
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are unclaspingprogressive
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has been unclaspingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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unclaspingparticiple
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unclaspssingular 3rd person
Past
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had unclaspedperfect
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was unclaspingprogressive singular
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were unclaspingprogressive plural
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had been unclaspingperfect progressive
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unclaspedparticiple
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unclaspedsimple
Future
Etymology
Origin of unclasp
Explanation
When you unclasp something, you open a fastening or loosen a grip. You should unclasp your gold locket and leave it someplace safe before you go surfing. Undo a clasp, a fastener or small lock, and you unclasp it. So you might unclasp your seatbelt once the plane has landed, or unclasp your bracelet so that your best friend can try it on. You can also undo another kind of clasp — a hug, hold, or embrace: "I missed her so much that I didn't ever want to unclasp my fingers from hers once she came home."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Harriet's sister, Caroline, and her friend Debbie, had managed to unclasp each other's seatbelts and get out of the plane, Harriet explained.
From BBC • Oct. 30, 2021
It is all his handlers can do to get him to unclasp his hands.
From Time Magazine Archive
This time he was told that he would not be able to unclasp his hands until the psychiatrist touched his head.
From Time Magazine Archive
Alex took off his other glove, then fumbled around trying to unclasp the cross he always wore around his neck.
From "The Dead and the Gone" by Susan Beth Pfeffer
She reached up to unclasp the pendant’s chain.
From "Uglies" by Scott Westerfeld
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
