unstrung
Americanverb
adjective
-
having the string or strings loosened or removed, as a bow or harp.
-
weakened or nervously unhinged, as a person or a person's nerves; unnerved; discomposed.
The incident left him unstrung.
adjective
-
emotionally distressed; unnerved
-
(of a stringed instrument) with the strings detached
Etymology
Origin of unstrung
First recorded in 1590–1600, for the adjective
Vocabulary lists containing unstrung
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.
By the time Gilgamesh sets out in search of immortality, he is already unstrung.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026
He also wore a fur pelt around his neck and carried an unstrung wooden archery bow.
From Washington Times • Jul. 13, 2023
That is not to say it’s historically unstrung along the lines of “The Great” or “Bridgerton” or Sofia Coppola’s “Marie Antoinette”; generally speaking, it stays put within its period.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 30, 2021
We’ll leave our gloves, with their humble histories, just as they are, somewhat unstrung by time and use, like us.
From Washington Post • Jun. 30, 2021
He pushed them into circles and rows like unstrung beads; he scooped them into his hand and shook them like dice.
From "Ceremony:" by Leslie Marmon Silko
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.
