unsew

American  

[uhn-soh] / ʌnˈsoʊ /

verb (used with object)

unsewed, unsewn, unsewed, unsewing

1. to remove or rip the stitches of (something sewed).

---

Etymology

Origin of unsew

First recorded in 1300–50, unsew is from the Middle English word unsouwen. See un- ², sew ¹

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

unsew unsewed unsewing unsewn

Thereupon one of the men put out his hand, began to unsew the shroud, and taking hold of it by one end suddenly laid bare the face of Marguerite.

From Camille by Alexandre Dumas fils

The host was tempted to unsew the valise.

From Imaginary Conversations and Poems A Selection by Walter Savage Landor

Take two pieces of cotton or woolen cloth, of any size from two inches to a foot square, and sew them together at the edges, leaving, however, a small place unsewed at one corner.

From Punchinello, Volume 1, No. 01, April 2, 1870 by Various

So I took off my under-coat, and with great trouble of mind, unsewed them from it.

From Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded by Samuel Richardson

This covering being unsewed, the naked corpse appears; the head alone being encircled with two or three bandages, called Huinchas.

From Travels in Peru, on the Coast, in the Sierra, Across the Cordilleras and the Andes, into the Primeval Forests by Thomasina Ross

This always leaves an end of a signature unsewed.

From Library Bookbinding by Arthur Low Bailey

Then he perceived an amulet sewn in the cap of the turban so he unsewed the lining and took it out; then took the trousers, in which was the purse of a thousand dinars.

From The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Volume I by John Payne

So I washed him and unsewing his gown, found in the bosom a ruby worth thousands of diners and said to myself, "By Allah, this youth was indeed abstracted from the things of this world!"

From The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Volume IV by John Payne

So I washed him and, unsewing his gown, found in the bosom a ruby worth thousands of gold pieces and said to myself, By Allah, this youth was indeed weaned from worldly things!'

From The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night — Volume 05 by Sir Richard Francis Burton

"Here are the three letters," said Jacqueline, who had finished unsewing the lining of her gown.

From Scenes from a Courtesan's Life by Honoré de Balzac

Elnora, whose eyes were too weak to see her stitches, merely sat with some unsewn pillow covers in her lap and closed her eyes.

From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein

One night at Wembley Park the ribbon that held it had come unsewn.

From The Disturbing Charm by Berta Ruck

They do not come unsewn at the corners by July or August in the way those one buys in other shops do.

From The Pastor's Wife by Elizabeth von Arnim

Thus to be humbled: 'tis to be undone; A forest fell'd; a city razed to ground; A cloak unsewn, unwoven and unspun Till not a thread remains that can be wound.

From The Poetical Works of Robert Bridges by Robert Bridges

Mournful, with drooping breasts and robes unsewn    The shapes of women swayed in ebon skies, Trailing behind him with a restless moan    Like cattle herded for a sacrifice.

From Forty-Two Poems by James Elroy Flecker

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---