unsell

American  

[uhn-sel] / ʌnˈsɛl /

verb (used with object)

unsold, unselling

1. to dissuade from a belief in the desirability, value, wisdom, or truth of something.

   He tried to unsell the public on its faith in rearmament.

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Etymology

Origin of unsell

First recorded in 1925–30; un- ² + sell ¹

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

unsell unselling unsold

He had come, too, to sell Manuel Roxas, and unsell the notion, widely propagated by U.S.

From Time Magazine Archive

Brokers unsell themselves The demands that honesty places on stockbrokers can be excruciating.

From Time Magazine Archive

"Even if I can't always convince him," said one, "I feel good knowing that others won't be able to unsell him on the things he's sold on."

From Time Magazine Archive

Westerners are beginning to unsell their own states.

From Time Magazine Archive

Yuban wastes no valuable space in unselling coffee.

From All About Coffee by Ukers, William H. (William Harrison)

Firms are sitting on almost 13,300 unsold companies in the U.S. alone, a backlog it will take almost 11 years to clear at the current pace of sales, PitchBook said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026

Buyout firms face a backlog of unsold portfolio companies that is only worsening as investor concerns deepen about artificial intelligence’s impact on the software industry.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026

That raises the question whether it’s proper to count Musk’s unsold SpaceX shares as part of his current net worth.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026

That’s leading to the total number of unsold cargoes to be well above normal.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026

At night they’d help Tommy haul any unsold tobacco down to the basement, where he’d turn the leaves into a bed for the children.

From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot