unhinge

[uhn-hinj]

verb (used with object)

unhinged, unhinging 

1. to remove (a door or the like) from hinges.

2. to open wide by or as if by removing supporting hinges.

   to unhinge one's jaws.

3. to upset; unbalance; disorient; throw into confusion or turmoil.

   to unhinge the mind.

4. to dislocate or disrupt the normal operation of; unsettle.

   to unhinge plans.

5. to detach or separate from something.

6. to cause to waver or vacillate.

   to unhinge supporters of conservative policies.

unhinge

/ ʌnˈhɪndʒ /

verb

1. to remove (a door, gate, etc) from its hinges

2. to derange or unbalance (a person, his mind, etc)

3. to disrupt or unsettle (a process or state of affairs)

4. (usually foll by from) to detach or dislodge

Other Word Forms

• unhingement noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of unhinge¹

First recorded in 1605–15; un- ² + hinge

Example Sentences

The president and his “secretary of war” deliver unhinged macho-snowflake monologues urging senior military officers to wage war on civilians in American cities.

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General Assembly last week — probably the longest speech ever delivered by a U.S. president in that forum, and without question the most unhinged — requires facing a difficult truth.

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His legendarily unhinged 2011 interview with ABC News’ Andrea Canning, which took place after he was fired from “Two and a Half Men,” exploded his Twitter following.

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“What’s fun about Laura’s perspective is Cherry seems completely unhinged and that there’s a real malevolent undertone to her behavior,” Cooke says.

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“Even as fires still burned, the newly elected President began targeting our state — testing our resolve with his relentless, unhinged California obsession,” Newsom wrote.

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Related Words

• fluster 
• unbalance