unsay
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
unsaysimple
-
unsayssimple
-
have unsaidperfect
-
has unsaidperfect
-
am unsayingprogressive
-
are unsayingprogressive
-
is unsayingprogressive
-
have been unsayingperfect progressive
-
has been unsayingperfect progressive
Past
-
unsaidsimple
-
had unsaidperfect
-
was unsayingprogressive
-
were unsayingprogressive
-
had been unsayingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of unsay
First recorded in 1425–75, unsay is from the late Middle English word unsayen. See un- 2, say 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Yet he can’t unsay what was said on the audio tape.
From Washington Times ● Jun. 13, 2018
This is the reality-TV kind of reality where, in post-production, you can unsay anything.
From Washington Post ● May 4, 2018
And then they unsay it, and they keep unsaying it, breaking their own rules over and over again.
From The Guardian ● May 13, 2017
Galliano can’t unsay or undo the gross, offensive things that happened two years ago.
From Salon ● Jan. 18, 2013
I was trying to unsay my foolish remark about lawyers.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
Lethem’s revisionist project ultimately unsays as much as it says.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2023
Besides which, he is grown moral, and unsays all his former good things.
From Library of the World's Best Literature, Ancient and Modern — Volume 1 by Runkle, Lucia Isabella Gilbert
Mr. Sumner's speech in the Senate unsays no part of his Faneuil Hall pledge.
From American Eloquence, Volume 2 Studies In American Political History (1896) by Johnston, Alexander
She unsays her words, she gives herself the lie, she says to the children, “Be old!”
From La Sorcière: The Witch of the Middle Ages by Michelet, Jules
Mr. Hughes forgets—or does he forget?—that in the sequel to this poem, entitled Sixty Years After, Tennyson unsays all the high-pitched dispraise of Amy and her squire.
From Flowers of Freethought (Second Series) by Foote, G. W. (George William)
Or is that a conversation better left unsaid?
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026
John F. Kennedy was a sailor and "the second most good-looking president," Trump said, leaving unsaid who is the first.
From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026
This week on Amicus, that changes: Two judges sat down with us to talk openly about what often goes unsaid.
From Slate ● May 9, 2026
Left unsaid was the fact that Steyer’s firm had extensive financial ties to San Diego’s Accredited Home Lenders, one of the biggest subprime mortgage lenders in the country.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 6, 2026
He left unsaid his real concern,- that the appointment would put half the armies of the realm into the hands of Lannisters.
From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin
And then they unsay it, and they keep unsaying it, breaking their own rules over and over again.
From The Guardian ● May 13, 2017
I gave him no chance of unsaying with grace or credit what he could not fail to regret that he had said.
From A Great Emergency and Other Tales by Ewing, Juliana Horatia Gatty
But the bibliolatrist cannot say that; because, if he does, then he is formally unsaying the very principle which is meant by bibliolatry.
From Theological Essays and Other Papers — Volume 1 by De Quincey, Thomas
"And if Aunt Julia isn't a 'Mede 'n' Persian,' she might almost as well be one—when it comes to unsaying things," Patricia told herself, as she started for the house.
From Patricia by Elliott, Emilia [pseud.]
Time and again in her heart of hearts had she planned how those unsaying words should be said, and said just as soon as ever he came, but he came rather soon and suddenly.
From A Tame Surrender, A Story of The Chicago Strike by King, Charles
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
