unbent

[uhn-bent]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR unbent ON THESAURUS.COM

verb

simple past tense and past participle of unbend.

adjective

not bent; unbowed.

not having yielded or submitted.

Origin of unbent

1475–85; (in defs 2, 3) un-¹ + bent¹

unbend

[uhn-bend]

verb (used with object), un·bent or (Archaic) un·bend·ed, un·bend·ing.

to straighten from a bent form or position.

to release from the strain of formality, intense effort, etc.; relax: to unbend one's mind.

to release from tension, as a bow.

Nautical.

to loose or untie, as a sail or rope.
to unfasten from spars or stays, as sails.

verb (used without object), un·bent or (Archaic) un·bend·ed, un·bend·ing.

to relax the strictness of formality or ceremony; act in an easy, genial manner: Imagine him unbending!

to become unbent; straighten.

Origin of unbend

Middle English word dating back to 1200–50; see origin at un-², bend¹

Related formsun·bend·a·ble, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for unbent

short, straightforward, solid, smooth, successive, consecutive, nonstop, true, unwind, recline, soften, calm, breathe, relax, lean, deign, rectify, uncoil, loosen, defrost

Examples from the Web for unbent

Historical Examples of unbent

Caradoc unbent his dignity and explained what he had observed.
The Cruise of the Dry Dock
T. S. Stribling
But since the day of the funeral her supple nature had unbent.
Audrey Craven
May Sinclair
Necessarily he must have or he couldn't have unbent to me as he did.
Mark Twain, A Biography, 1835-1910, Complete
Albert Bigelow Paine
But the captain took not the offered hand nor unbent his angry brow.
Standish of Standish
Jane G. Austin
Here the sails were unbent to be repaired, and tents were set up on shore.
Captain Cook
W.H.G. Kingston

British Dictionary definitions for unbent

unbent

verb

the past tense and past participle of unbend

adjective

not bent or bowed

not compelled to yield or give way by force

unbend

verb -bends, -bending or -bent

to release or be released from the restraints of formality and ceremony

informal to relax (the mind) or (of the mind) to become relaxed

to become or be made straightened out from an originally bent shape or position

(tr) nautical

to remove (a sail) from a stay, mast, yard, etc
to untie (a rope, etc) or cast (a cable) loose

Derived Formsunbendable, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for unbent

unbend

"to relax a bow by unstringing it," mid-13c., from un- (2) + bend (v.). Figurative meaning "to become genial, relax" (1748) has a sense opposite to that of unbending "inflexible, obstinate" (1680s), which does not derive from the bowstringing image.