unharness
Americanverb (used with object)
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to strip of harness; detach the harness from (a horse, mule, etc.).
-
to divest of armor, as a knight or warhorse.
verb
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to remove the harness from (a horse, etc)
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archaic to remove the armour from
Etymology
Origin of unharness
First recorded in 1400–50, unharness is from the Middle English word onharnesen. See un- 2, harness
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.
Immunotherapies are drugs which unharness the power of the immune system against cancers.
From Science Daily
Frequently, one of the dog teams had to be unharnessed from its sled and then hitched to a lifeboat to help the men drag it up and over a hummock or ridge.
From Literature
This was a crisis unleashed by the unharnessed power of nature, then magnified by the consequences of past policy decisions and poor leadership.
From Washington Times
My parents showed me how to really unharness my swagger.
From The Verge
Maybe they’d have enough music to entertain them while they drove fourteen or fifteen miles home and unharnessed in the dark and fed the stock and milked.
From Literature
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.