unfold

[uhn-fohld]

verb (used with object)

1. to bring out of a folded state; spread or open out.

   Unfold your arms.

2. to spread out or lay open to view.

3. to reveal or display.

4. to reveal or disclose in words, especially by careful or systematic exposition; set forth; explain.

verb (used without object)

1. to become unfolded; open.

2. to develop.

3. to become clear, apparent, or known.

   The protagonist's character unfolds as the story reaches its climax.

unfold

/ ʌnˈfəʊld /

verb

1. to open or spread out or be opened or spread out from a folded state

2. to reveal or be revealed

   the truth unfolds

3. to develop or expand or be developed or expanded

Other Word Forms

• unfolder noun
• unfoldable adjective
• unfoldment noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of unfold¹

before 900; Middle English unfolden, Old English unfealdan; cognate with German entfalten. See un- ², fold ¹

Example Sentences

Over the course of 270 pages, “Cheese Magic” unfolds like a calendar of appetites.

Read more on Salon

“As the trial unfolds and evidence is actually coming in, risk is brought into focus and makes plaintiffs and defendants evaluate their case in a more clear light.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

This week, the battle that will soon unfold at the bargaining table will be waged on the field—with the National League pennant at stake.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

This was on the Tibetan side but something similar had unfolded on the Nepal side, where a South Korean mountaineer died on Mera Peak.

Read more on BBC

The story unfolding in America’s coastal towns isn’t just about hunger; it’s about the erosion of stability.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• illustrate 
• resolve 
• reveal 
• solve 
• unravel