unleash

American  

[uhn-leesh] / ʌnˈliʃ /

verb (used with object)

• unleashes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• unleashed,
  past participle,  past
• unleashing
  present participle

1. to release from or as if from a leash; set loose to pursue or run at will.

2. to abandon control of.

   to unleash his fury.

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unleash British  

/ ʌnˈliːʃ /

verb

1. to release from or as if from a leash

2. to free from restraint or control

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

• unleashing
  present
• unleashed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• unleash
  simple
• unleashes
  simple
• have unleashed
  perfect
• has unleashed
  perfect
• am unleashing
  progressive
• are unleashing
  progressive
• is unleashing
  progressive
• have been unleashing
  perfect progressive
• has been unleashing
  perfect progressive

Past

• unleashed
  simple
• had unleashed
  perfect
• was unleashing
  progressive
• were unleashing
  progressive
• had been unleashing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will unleash
  simple
• will have unleashed
  perfect
• will be unleashing
  progressive
• will have been unleashing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of unleash

First recorded in 1665–75; un- ² + leash

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

unleash unleashes unleashed unleashing

The U.S. has long provided Ecuador and other Latin American governments with intelligence, equipment and training to help fight powerful criminal groups that send drugs north and unleash violence at home.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

According to GlobalSecurity, a private nonpartisan research organization on defense issues, it’s unlikely Meink was talking about any sorts of “kinetic” weapons—i.e., weapons that unleash bullets or bombs—since the resulting debris could also be self-destructive.

From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026

Furthermore, Al-Hussainy said the Treasury and Fed likely will be more concerned about the potential for bond-market tumult to unleash financial stability concerns.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026

The data comes as a strengthening El Nino pattern, expected to be the most intense in decades, begins to unleash extreme weather across much of the globe.

From Barron's ● Sep. 9, 2026

Hila had never even let him touch the thing, convinced that even with it just sitting in his palm, he’d somehow manage to unleash an army of the undead on Manhattan or something.

From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny

Together with the car’s Launch Control function, the Push-to-Pass feature unleashes stupefying acceleration—0-60 mph in 2.4 seconds, officially.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 5, 2026

In the snap, Stokes unleashes a bouncer to a flinching Mohammed Siraj, the India tailender.

From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026

“The Beloved’s” actual director, Rodrigo Sorogoyen, unleashes his leads to become a tag team of destruction, each blaming the other for what’s going wrong on set.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 22, 2026

He fielded a series of questions on Iran, Cuba and China with a relaxed style and dashes of humor -- and little of the invective that Trump often unleashes in his briefing room appearances.

From Barron's ● May 6, 2026

Ama unleashes an Adinkra spell that sprouts a gigantic wall of ferns, blocking the thorned thicket on the other side.

From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer

They’ll also see that the greed unleashed during 19th century America resource-gathering isn’t gone.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

Ferguson also said the individuals who developed AI agents would be held responsible for any wrongdoing unleashed by the models.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026

Organisers distributed signs and unleashed a balloon drop at the end as live music blared.

From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026

On Sept. 1, with the math community buzzing about rumors that Anthropic had solved two Millennium Prize problems, OpenAI unleashed the model on all six open questions.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026

Your beloved has unleashed a special curse—a bitter thought from someone you abandoned.

From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan

Polo, a Category 4 hurricane with sustained winds of 140 mph, is on track to make landfall in Baja California Sur on Monday, unleashing heavy rains and flooding there.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 27, 2026

DAUDZEVA, Latvia—Wearing strips of red tape on their helmets, Danish soldiers stealthily moved through the pine forest and then, unleashing a firestorm, overran a position held by Spanish troops.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026

"We are unleashing our full potential as an energy superpower," the prime minister said.

From Barron's ● Sep. 15, 2026

Not so long ago, Alcaraz and Sinner had the sport in their grip, unleashing epic matches, trading major titles and elevating over the rest of the field.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

They invented stupid TV shows, unleashing a cavalcade of ever-increasing banality as they tried to out-stupid each other.

From "The 57 Bus" by Dashka Slater