mend

[mend]

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verb (used with object)

to make (something broken, worn, torn, or otherwise damaged) whole, sound, or usable by repairing: to mend old clothes; to mend a broken toy.

to remove or correct defects or errors in.

to set right; make better; improve: to mend matters.

verb (used without object)

to progress toward recovery, as a sick person.

(of broken bones) to grow back together; knit.

to improve, as conditions or affairs.

noun

the act of mending; repair or improvement.

a mended place.

Idioms

mend sail, Nautical. to refurl sails that have been badly furled.Also mend the furl.

on the mend,

recovering from an illness.
improving in general, as a state of affairs: The breach between father and son is on the mend.

Origin of mend

1150–1200; Middle English menden, aphetic variant of amend

Related formsmend·a·ble, adjectivere·mend, verbun·mend·a·ble, adjectiveun·mend·ed, adjectivewell-mend·ed, adjective

Synonyms for mend

1. fix, restore, retouch. Mend, darn, patch mean to repair something and thus renew its usefulness. Mend is a general expression that emphasizes the idea of making whole something damaged: to mend a broken dish, a tear in an apron. Darn and patch are more specific, referring particularly to repairing holes or tears. To darn is to repair by means of stitches interwoven with one another: to darn stockings. To patch is to cover a hole or tear, usually with a piece or pieces of similar material and to secure the edges of these; it implies a more temporary or makeshift repair than the others: to patch the knees of trousers, a rubber tire. 2. rectify, amend, emend. 3. ameliorate, meliorate. 4. heal, recover, amend.

Antonyms for mend

1. ruin, destroy, 4. die, sicken.

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

Examples from the Web for unmended

Historical Examples of unmended

No thought of brushing their worn-out, unmended boots ever entered their minds.
Ester Ried Yet Speaking
Isabella Alden
He had no doubt that it was clean, but he knew it would be unmended.
Yonder
Emily Hilda Young
A basket of unmended stockings balances the cradle on Mrs. Evans's other side, and an open Peerage lies upon her lap.
Doctor Cupid
Rhoda Broughton
Soiled frills or unmended hose must have originated this vulgarity!
The American Gentleman's Guide to Politeness and Fashion
Henry Lunettes
In the country the old Roman roads were unmended, unkept; Europe was slipping backwards into uttermost barbarism.
The Freethinker's Text Book, Part II.
Annie Besant

British Dictionary definitions for unmended

mend

verb

(tr) to repair (something broken or unserviceable)

to improve or undergo improvement; reform (often in the phrase mend one's ways)

(intr) to heal or recover

(intr) (of conditions) to improve; become better

(tr) Northern English to feed or stir (a fire)

noun

the act of repairing

a mended area, esp on a garment

on the mend becoming better, esp in health

Derived Formsmendable, adjectivemender, noun

Word Origin for mend

C12: shortened from amend

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 unmended

mend

c.1200, "to repair," from a shortened form of Old French amender (see amend). Meaning "to put right, atone for, amend (one's life), repent" is from c.1300; that of "to regain health" is from early 15c. Related: Mended; mending.

mend

early 14c., "recompense, reparation," from mend (v.). Meaning "act of mending; a repaired hole or rip in fabric" is from 1888. Phrase on the mend attested from 1802.

Idioms and Phrases with unmended

mend

In addition to the idioms beginning with mend

mend one's fences
mend one's ways

also see:

on the mend