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

That could be a tactical shift for an American president who, until recently, was threatening to unleash the most devastating strikes since World War II against Iran.

From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026

More details on the Treasury’s latest plans for financing the government will be released later in the week, and any surprise could unleash more volatility.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 3, 2026

Refn: We were both naive idealists and we both had an enormous amount of emotions within us that we were trying to find places to unleash.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026

Once a promising footballer on the books of Roma, Cobolli uses his athleticism to move into position and unleash his heavy forehand.

From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026

‘Father, can’t you unleash the winds to send our ship back?’

From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan

At the heart of the protests across the country, that is the question being asked: Do we get to decide the future that AI unleashes?

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026

The performances are good; the plot, postcard-sized: Adam returns to Eternia, unleashes his alter-identity He-Man and wrestles with the pressure to live up to his new biceps.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 3, 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

Mary Ellen Stebbins’s lighting set the mood, from the red urgency of the drill to the spotlight on Alona as she finally unleashes her story.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 2, 2026

Her smug expression convinces me to keep on walking out of the room and unleashes a barrage of worry that unsettles my stomach.

From "Dread Nation" by Justina Ireland

But his brand of market reformism, which lifted millions out of poverty but unleashed inequality, fell out of vogue with the ascent of Xi Jinping, China's most powerful leader in generations, in 2012.

From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026

The central question remains whether Japan will become an economy where reforms have unleashed more animal spirits and spurred investment.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026

Leading the charge is the Defense Department, which unleashed a spree of deals securing equity in future gallium producer Atlantic Alumina and Canadian mining company Trilogy Metals.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026

Cosmo itched so much from allergies that he constantly scratched himself raw and unleashed a howl when we were gone for too long, so loud and haunting that my neighbor thought it was a siren.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026

Befote I could tell him no, he dove between me and the bull just as it unleashed a nuclear firestorm.

From "The Sea of Monsters" by Rick Riordan

On Wednesday, part of a SpaceX rocket about the size of a bus slammed into the Moon, unleashing a stream of debris.

From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in 2025 aimed at "unleashing" these seabed resources, stressing the demand in everything from renewable energy to military applications.

From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026

They’re angry about how technology companies are unleashing new technologies recklessly, without accountability.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026

Lawyers anticipate most will not be settled, unleashing a flood of lawsuits starting this summer.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 26, 2026

By the summer of 1940, the Nazis had conquered most of Europe, and they were unleashing their bombers on Britain.

From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield