unwind

Meaning

Verb

1. To separate (something that is wound up)
2. (obsolete) To disentangle
3. (colloquial) To relax; to chill out; to rest and become relieved of stress
4. To be or become unwound; to be capable of being unwound or untwisted.
5. To close out a position, especially a complicated position.
6. To undo something.
7. To analyse (a call stack) so as to generate a stack trace etc.
8. To unravel or explain.

Noun

Any mechanism or operation that unwinds something.

Synonyms

uncoil

unroll

unreel

unravel

untie

relax

untwist

untangle

loosen up

wind off

decompress

ravel

uncurl

unlax

unstrain

break

loosen

untwine

unbend

unwrap

unbind

undo

slacken

slow down

make relaxed

disentangle

slacken off

turn

unknot

unlade

unload

unpick

unscramble

unscrew

unstring

unwinding

vent

feel at home

slack off

wind down

become loose

reel out

afwikkelen

unleash

break off

come undone

decamp

decipher

decrypt

defuse

disassemble

dismantle

ease off

ease up

exhibit

flag

knock down

let go

let up

loose

offload

open

program development

pull down

revoke

roll up

strike down

take down

take out

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ʌnˈwaɪnd/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: unwinden

Inherited from Old English: unwindan

Cognate with Dutch: ontwinden

In summary

From Middle English unwinden, from Old English unwindan (“to unwind; unwrap”), from Proto-Germanic *andawindaną (“to unwind”); equivalent to un- + wind (“to coil”). Cognate with Dutch ontwinden (“to unwind”).