unleash
Americanverb (used with object)
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to release from or as if from a leash; set loose to pursue or run at will.
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to abandon control of.
to unleash his fury.
verb
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to release from or as if from a leash
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to free from restraint or control
Etymology
Origin of unleash
Explanation
When you remove your dog's leash so she can run wildly across the beach, you unleash her — you set her loose. And when you unleash a storm of insults against your brother, you allow them to flow freely from your lips. There are two ways to use the verb unleash. Literally, it means "set loose," like when a police officer unleashes her trained dog to sniff luggage for illegal drugs, or a farmer unleashes her llama after moving it into a pen. Figuratively, you can unleash all kinds of emotions, forces, opinions, and actions. Unhappy citizens might unleash a series of high-profile protests, or a barrage of shouted demands, for example.
Vocabulary lists containing unleash
myPerspectives 8.4
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Across So Many Seas
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Vocabulary from Readings 5, Unit 2
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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.
The Committee to Unleash Prosperity, a nonprofit run by Trump’s former economic advisor Stephen Moore, reviewed decades of academic literature on interest rates last year.
From Barron's • Jan. 13, 2026
Unleash Prosperity examined the votes of 600 investment management companies on 50 ESG proposals in the 2024 proxy season.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 17, 2025
Ms. Shelton is a senior fellow at the Independent Institute and author of “Good as Gold: How to Unleash the Power of Sound Money.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 26, 2025
The 38-year-old has released seven albums, as well as singles and EPs, and his collaboration with singer-songwriter Runtown for the track Unleash has nearly 11 million streams on Spotify.
From BBC • Aug. 12, 2025
“You hear not as he hears not. You are both very young for deafness. Unleash his hands and leave us,” he said to the guards.
From "Gregor the Overlander" by Suzanne Collins
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.
