"unleash" meaning in English

See unleash in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Verb

IPA: /ʌnˈliʃ/ Audio: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-unleash.wav Forms: unleashes [present, singular, third-person], unleashing [participle, present], unleashed [participle, past], unleashed [past]
Rhymes: -iːʃ Etymology: From un- + leash. Etymology templates: {{af|en|un-|leash|id1=reversive}} un- + leash Head templates: {{en-verb}} unleash (third-person singular simple present unleashes, present participle unleashing, simple past and past participle unleashed)
  1. (transitive) To free from a leash, or as from a leash. Tags: transitive Translations (to free from a leash): развързвам (razvǎrzvam) (Bulgarian), desfermar (Catalan), 釋放 /释放 (shìfàng) (Chinese Mandarin), 放開 /放开 (fàngkāi) (Chinese Mandarin), loslaten (Dutch), vrijlaten (Dutch), deŝnuri (Esperanto), päästää valloilleen (Finnish), päästää irti (Finnish), laskea irti (Finnish), déchaîner (French), von der Leine lassen (German), loslassen (German), freilassen (German), freien Lauf lassen (German), poi (Guaraní), הִתִּיר (hitír) (Hebrew), sguinzagliare (Italian), 束縛を解く (sokubaku o toku) (alt: そくばくをとく) (Japanese), spuścić (Polish), soltar (Portuguese), separar (Portuguese), спуска́ть с при́вязи (spuskátʹ s prívjazi) [imperfective] (Russian), спусти́ть с при́вязи (spustítʹ s prívjazi) [perfective] (Russian), pustiti s lanca (Serbo-Croatian), razobručiti (Serbo-Croatian), odvezati (Serbo-Croatian), desatar (Spanish), libertar (Spanish)
    Sense id: en-unleash-en-verb-swWS5qyT Disambiguation of 'to free from a leash': 86 7 7
  2. (figurative) To let go; to release. Tags: figuratively Translations (to release): пускам (puskam) (Bulgarian), отпускам (otpuskam) (Bulgarian), desencadenar (Catalan), ontketenen (Dutch), soulever (French), loslassen (German), bewirken (German), freisetzen (German), poi (Guaraní), scatenare (Italian), dimitto (Latin), emitto (Latin), lepas (Malay), desencadear (Portuguese), выпуска́ть (vypuskátʹ) [imperfective] (Russian), вы́пустить (výpustitʹ) [perfective] (Russian), desencadenar (Spanish), libertar (Spanish)
    Sense id: en-unleash-en-verb-h6JRmRnc Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, English terms prefixed with un- (reversive), Entries with translation boxes, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries, Terms with Bulgarian translations, Terms with Catalan translations, Terms with Dutch translations, Terms with Esperanto translations, Terms with Finnish translations, Terms with French translations, Terms with German translations, Terms with Guaraní translations, Terms with Hebrew translations, Terms with Italian translations, Terms with Japanese translations, Terms with Latin translations, Terms with Malay translations, Terms with Mandarin translations, Terms with Polish translations, Terms with Portuguese translations, Terms with Russian translations, Terms with Serbo-Croatian translations, Terms with Spanish translations Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 7 81 12 Disambiguation of English terms prefixed with un- (reversive): 18 60 22 Disambiguation of Entries with translation boxes: 10 72 17 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 9 80 11 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 5 87 8 Disambiguation of Terms with Bulgarian translations: 15 65 20 Disambiguation of Terms with Catalan translations: 11 71 18 Disambiguation of Terms with Dutch translations: 12 67 21 Disambiguation of Terms with Esperanto translations: 10 75 15 Disambiguation of Terms with Finnish translations: 11 71 18 Disambiguation of Terms with French translations: 13 66 21 Disambiguation of Terms with German translations: 10 71 19 Disambiguation of Terms with Guaraní translations: 8 78 13 Disambiguation of Terms with Hebrew translations: 11 71 18 Disambiguation of Terms with Italian translations: 10 75 16 Disambiguation of Terms with Japanese translations: 10 75 16 Disambiguation of Terms with Latin translations: 10 75 16 Disambiguation of Terms with Malay translations: 11 71 18 Disambiguation of Terms with Mandarin translations: 10 68 21 Disambiguation of Terms with Polish translations: 11 69 19 Disambiguation of Terms with Portuguese translations: 11 72 17 Disambiguation of Terms with Russian translations: 10 75 16 Disambiguation of Terms with Serbo-Croatian translations: 11 71 18 Disambiguation of Terms with Spanish translations: 9 76 15 Disambiguation of 'to release': 0 100 0
  3. (figurative) To precipitate; to bring about. Tags: figuratively Translations (to precipitate; to bring about): entfesseln (German), vom Zaun brechen [idiomatic] (German), entfachen (German), desencadenar (Spanish)
    Sense id: en-unleash-en-verb-WL04Ow8z Disambiguation of 'to precipitate; to bring about': 1 2 97

Inflected forms

{
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "un-",
        "3": "leash",
        "id1": "reversive"
      },
      "expansion": "un- + leash",
      "name": "af"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From un- + leash.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "unleashes",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "unleashing",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "unleashed",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "unleashed",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "unleash (third-person singular simple present unleashes, present participle unleashing, simple past and past participle unleashed)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "antonyms": [
        {
          "word": "leash"
        },
        {
          "word": "leash up"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "He unleashed his dog in the park.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To free from a leash, or as from a leash."
      ],
      "id": "en-unleash-en-verb-swWS5qyT",
      "links": [
        [
          "leash",
          "leash"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive) To free from a leash, or as from a leash."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "86 7 7",
          "code": "bg",
          "lang": "Bulgarian",
          "roman": "razvǎrzvam",
          "sense": "to free from a leash",
          "word": "развързвам"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 7 7",
          "code": "ca",
          "lang": "Catalan",
          "sense": "to free from a leash",
          "word": "desfermar"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 7 7",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "shìfàng",
          "sense": "to free from a leash",
          "word": "釋放 /释放"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 7 7",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "fàngkāi",
          "sense": "to free from a leash",
          "word": "放開 /放开"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 7 7",
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "sense": "to free from a leash",
          "word": "loslaten"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 7 7",
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "sense": "to free from a leash",
          "word": "vrijlaten"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 7 7",
          "code": "eo",
          "lang": "Esperanto",
          "sense": "to free from a leash",
          "word": "deŝnuri"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 7 7",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "to free from a leash",
          "word": "päästää valloilleen"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 7 7",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "to free from a leash",
          "word": "päästää irti"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 7 7",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "to free from a leash",
          "word": "laskea irti"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 7 7",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "to free from a leash",
          "word": "déchaîner"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 7 7",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "to free from a leash",
          "word": "von der Leine lassen"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 7 7",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "to free from a leash",
          "word": "loslassen"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 7 7",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "to free from a leash",
          "word": "freilassen"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 7 7",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "to free from a leash",
          "word": "freien Lauf lassen"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 7 7",
          "code": "gn",
          "lang": "Guaraní",
          "sense": "to free from a leash",
          "word": "poi"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 7 7",
          "code": "he",
          "lang": "Hebrew",
          "roman": "hitír",
          "sense": "to free from a leash",
          "word": "הִתִּיר"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 7 7",
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "to free from a leash",
          "word": "sguinzagliare"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 7 7",
          "alt": "そくばくをとく",
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "roman": "sokubaku o toku",
          "sense": "to free from a leash",
          "word": "束縛を解く"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 7 7",
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "to free from a leash",
          "word": "spuścić"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 7 7",
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "to free from a leash",
          "word": "soltar"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 7 7",
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "to free from a leash",
          "word": "separar"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 7 7",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "spuskátʹ s prívjazi",
          "sense": "to free from a leash",
          "tags": [
            "imperfective"
          ],
          "word": "спуска́ть с при́вязи"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 7 7",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "spustítʹ s prívjazi",
          "sense": "to free from a leash",
          "tags": [
            "perfective"
          ],
          "word": "спусти́ть с при́вязи"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 7 7",
          "code": "sh",
          "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
          "sense": "to free from a leash",
          "word": "pustiti s lanca"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 7 7",
          "code": "sh",
          "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
          "sense": "to free from a leash",
          "word": "razobručiti"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 7 7",
          "code": "sh",
          "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
          "sense": "to free from a leash",
          "word": "odvezati"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 7 7",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "to free from a leash",
          "word": "desatar"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 7 7",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "to free from a leash",
          "word": "libertar"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "7 81 12",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "18 60 22",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English terms prefixed with un- (reversive)",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "10 72 17",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Entries with translation boxes",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "9 80 11",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "5 87 8",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "15 65 20",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Bulgarian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "11 71 18",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Catalan translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "12 67 21",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Dutch translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "10 75 15",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Esperanto translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "11 71 18",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Finnish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "13 66 21",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with French translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "10 71 19",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with German translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "8 78 13",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Guaraní translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "11 71 18",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Hebrew translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "10 75 16",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Italian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "10 75 16",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Japanese translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "10 75 16",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Latin translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "11 71 18",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Malay translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "10 68 21",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Mandarin translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "11 69 19",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Polish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "11 72 17",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Portuguese translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "10 75 16",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Russian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "11 71 18",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Serbo-Croatian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "9 76 15",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Spanish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "He unleashed his fury.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1999, Vivian Patraka, Spectacular Suffering: Theatre, Fascism, and the Holocaust:",
          "text": "It is the goneness of the Holocaust that produces the simultaneous profusion of discourses and understandings; the goneness is what opens up, what spurs, what unleashes the perpetual desire to do, to make, to rethink the Holocaust.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2011 October 1, John Sinnott, “Aston Villa 2 - 0 Wigan”, in BBC Sport:",
          "text": "As Bent pulled away to the far post, Agbonlahor opted to go it alone, motoring past Gary Caldwell before unleashing a shot into the roof of the net.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2012 April 4, Sam Anderson, “Just One More Game ...”, in The New York Times Magazine:",
          "text": "In 1989, as communism was beginning to crumble across Eastern Europe, just a few months before protesters started pecking away at the Berlin Wall, the Japanese game-making giant Nintendo reached across the world to unleash upon America its own version of freedom.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2020 June 3, Andrew Mourant, “A safer railway in a greener habitat”, in Rail, page 58:",
          "text": "Storm Charlie had raged throught [sic] the night and was unleashing further gusts on the morning that RAIL was due to inspect a vegetation management project in Kent. Bit by bit, the train timetable unravelled. A trip beginning at Bradford-on-Avon belatedly reached Bath, but that turned out to be journey's end.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To let go; to release."
      ],
      "id": "en-unleash-en-verb-h6JRmRnc",
      "links": [
        [
          "let go",
          "let go"
        ],
        [
          "release",
          "release"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(figurative) To let go; to release."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "figuratively"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "0 100 0",
          "code": "bg",
          "lang": "Bulgarian",
          "roman": "puskam",
          "sense": "to release",
          "word": "пускам"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "0 100 0",
          "code": "bg",
          "lang": "Bulgarian",
          "roman": "otpuskam",
          "sense": "to release",
          "word": "отпускам"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "0 100 0",
          "code": "ca",
          "lang": "Catalan",
          "sense": "to release",
          "word": "desencadenar"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "0 100 0",
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "sense": "to release",
          "word": "ontketenen"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "0 100 0",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "to release",
          "word": "soulever"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "0 100 0",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "to release",
          "word": "loslassen"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "0 100 0",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "to release",
          "word": "bewirken"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "0 100 0",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "to release",
          "word": "freisetzen"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "0 100 0",
          "code": "gn",
          "lang": "Guaraní",
          "sense": "to release",
          "word": "poi"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "0 100 0",
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "to release",
          "word": "scatenare"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "0 100 0",
          "code": "la",
          "lang": "Latin",
          "sense": "to release",
          "word": "dimitto"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "0 100 0",
          "code": "la",
          "lang": "Latin",
          "sense": "to release",
          "word": "emitto"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "0 100 0",
          "code": "ms",
          "lang": "Malay",
          "sense": "to release",
          "word": "lepas"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "0 100 0",
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "to release",
          "word": "desencadear"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "0 100 0",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "vypuskátʹ",
          "sense": "to release",
          "tags": [
            "imperfective"
          ],
          "word": "выпуска́ть"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "0 100 0",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "výpustitʹ",
          "sense": "to release",
          "tags": [
            "perfective"
          ],
          "word": "вы́пустить"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "0 100 0",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "to release",
          "word": "desencadenar"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "0 100 0",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "to release",
          "word": "libertar"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2009 July 11, Bob Herbert, “The Human Equation”, in The New York Times:",
          "text": "Even if it were working perfectly, the stimulus would not come close to stemming the cascade of joblessness unleashed by this megarecession.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2013 April 9, Andrei Lankov, “Stay Cool. Call North Korea’s Bluff.”, in The New York Times:",
          "text": "People who talk about an imminent possibility of war seldom pose this question: What would North Korea’s leadership get from unleashing a war that they are likely to lose in weeks, if not days?",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To precipitate; to bring about."
      ],
      "id": "en-unleash-en-verb-WL04Ow8z",
      "links": [
        [
          "precipitate",
          "precipitate"
        ],
        [
          "bring about",
          "bring about"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(figurative) To precipitate; to bring about."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "figuratively"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "1 2 97",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "to precipitate; to bring about",
          "word": "entfesseln"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "1 2 97",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "to precipitate; to bring about",
          "tags": [
            "idiomatic"
          ],
          "word": "vom Zaun brechen"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "1 2 97",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "to precipitate; to bring about",
          "word": "entfachen"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "1 2 97",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "to precipitate; to bring about",
          "word": "desencadenar"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ʌnˈliʃ/"
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-unleash.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/c/c8/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-unleash.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-unleash.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/c/c8/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-unleash.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-unleash.wav.ogg"
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-iːʃ"
    }
  ],
  "word": "unleash"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English terms prefixed with un- (reversive)",
    "English verbs",
    "Entries with translation boxes",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Rhymes:English/iːʃ",
    "Rhymes:English/iːʃ/2 syllables",
    "Terms with Bulgarian translations",
    "Terms with Catalan translations",
    "Terms with Dutch translations",
    "Terms with Esperanto translations",
    "Terms with Finnish translations",
    "Terms with French translations",
    "Terms with German translations",
    "Terms with Guaraní translations",
    "Terms with Hebrew translations",
    "Terms with Italian translations",
    "Terms with Japanese translations",
    "Terms with Latin translations",
    "Terms with Malay translations",
    "Terms with Mandarin translations",
    "Terms with Polish translations",
    "Terms with Portuguese translations",
    "Terms with Russian translations",
    "Terms with Serbo-Croatian translations",
    "Terms with Spanish translations"
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "un-",
        "3": "leash",
        "id1": "reversive"
      },
      "expansion": "un- + leash",
      "name": "af"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From un- + leash.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "unleashes",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "unleashing",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "unleashed",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "unleashed",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "unleash (third-person singular simple present unleashes, present participle unleashing, simple past and past participle unleashed)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "antonyms": [
        {
          "word": "leash"
        },
        {
          "word": "leash up"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        "English terms with usage examples",
        "English transitive verbs"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "He unleashed his dog in the park.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To free from a leash, or as from a leash."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "leash",
          "leash"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive) To free from a leash, or as from a leash."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English terms with usage examples"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "He unleashed his fury.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1999, Vivian Patraka, Spectacular Suffering: Theatre, Fascism, and the Holocaust:",
          "text": "It is the goneness of the Holocaust that produces the simultaneous profusion of discourses and understandings; the goneness is what opens up, what spurs, what unleashes the perpetual desire to do, to make, to rethink the Holocaust.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2011 October 1, John Sinnott, “Aston Villa 2 - 0 Wigan”, in BBC Sport:",
          "text": "As Bent pulled away to the far post, Agbonlahor opted to go it alone, motoring past Gary Caldwell before unleashing a shot into the roof of the net.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2012 April 4, Sam Anderson, “Just One More Game ...”, in The New York Times Magazine:",
          "text": "In 1989, as communism was beginning to crumble across Eastern Europe, just a few months before protesters started pecking away at the Berlin Wall, the Japanese game-making giant Nintendo reached across the world to unleash upon America its own version of freedom.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2020 June 3, Andrew Mourant, “A safer railway in a greener habitat”, in Rail, page 58:",
          "text": "Storm Charlie had raged throught [sic] the night and was unleashing further gusts on the morning that RAIL was due to inspect a vegetation management project in Kent. Bit by bit, the train timetable unravelled. A trip beginning at Bradford-on-Avon belatedly reached Bath, but that turned out to be journey's end.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To let go; to release."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "let go",
          "let go"
        ],
        [
          "release",
          "release"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(figurative) To let go; to release."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "figuratively"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2009 July 11, Bob Herbert, “The Human Equation”, in The New York Times:",
          "text": "Even if it were working perfectly, the stimulus would not come close to stemming the cascade of joblessness unleashed by this megarecession.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2013 April 9, Andrei Lankov, “Stay Cool. Call North Korea’s Bluff.”, in The New York Times:",
          "text": "People who talk about an imminent possibility of war seldom pose this question: What would North Korea’s leadership get from unleashing a war that they are likely to lose in weeks, if not days?",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To precipitate; to bring about."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "precipitate",
          "precipitate"
        ],
        [
          "bring about",
          "bring about"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(figurative) To precipitate; to bring about."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "figuratively"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ʌnˈliʃ/"
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-unleash.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/c/c8/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-unleash.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-unleash.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/c/c8/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-unleash.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-unleash.wav.ogg"
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-iːʃ"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "bg",
      "lang": "Bulgarian",
      "roman": "razvǎrzvam",
      "sense": "to free from a leash",
      "word": "развързвам"
    },
    {
      "code": "ca",
      "lang": "Catalan",
      "sense": "to free from a leash",
      "word": "desfermar"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "shìfàng",
      "sense": "to free from a leash",
      "word": "釋放 /释放"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "fàngkāi",
      "sense": "to free from a leash",
      "word": "放開 /放开"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "to free from a leash",
      "word": "loslaten"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "to free from a leash",
      "word": "vrijlaten"
    },
    {
      "code": "eo",
      "lang": "Esperanto",
      "sense": "to free from a leash",
      "word": "deŝnuri"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "to free from a leash",
      "word": "päästää valloilleen"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "to free from a leash",
      "word": "päästää irti"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "to free from a leash",
      "word": "laskea irti"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "to free from a leash",
      "word": "déchaîner"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "to free from a leash",
      "word": "von der Leine lassen"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "to free from a leash",
      "word": "loslassen"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "to free from a leash",
      "word": "freilassen"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "to free from a leash",
      "word": "freien Lauf lassen"
    },
    {
      "code": "gn",
      "lang": "Guaraní",
      "sense": "to free from a leash",
      "word": "poi"
    },
    {
      "code": "he",
      "lang": "Hebrew",
      "roman": "hitír",
      "sense": "to free from a leash",
      "word": "הִתִּיר"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "to free from a leash",
      "word": "sguinzagliare"
    },
    {
      "alt": "そくばくをとく",
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "roman": "sokubaku o toku",
      "sense": "to free from a leash",
      "word": "束縛を解く"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "to free from a leash",
      "word": "spuścić"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "to free from a leash",
      "word": "soltar"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "to free from a leash",
      "word": "separar"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "spuskátʹ s prívjazi",
      "sense": "to free from a leash",
      "tags": [
        "imperfective"
      ],
      "word": "спуска́ть с при́вязи"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "spustítʹ s prívjazi",
      "sense": "to free from a leash",
      "tags": [
        "perfective"
      ],
      "word": "спусти́ть с при́вязи"
    },
    {
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "sense": "to free from a leash",
      "word": "pustiti s lanca"
    },
    {
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "sense": "to free from a leash",
      "word": "razobručiti"
    },
    {
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "sense": "to free from a leash",
      "word": "odvezati"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "to free from a leash",
      "word": "desatar"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "to free from a leash",
      "word": "libertar"
    },
    {
      "code": "bg",
      "lang": "Bulgarian",
      "roman": "puskam",
      "sense": "to release",
      "word": "пускам"
    },
    {
      "code": "bg",
      "lang": "Bulgarian",
      "roman": "otpuskam",
      "sense": "to release",
      "word": "отпускам"
    },
    {
      "code": "ca",
      "lang": "Catalan",
      "sense": "to release",
      "word": "desencadenar"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "to release",
      "word": "ontketenen"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "to release",
      "word": "soulever"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "to release",
      "word": "loslassen"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "to release",
      "word": "bewirken"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "to release",
      "word": "freisetzen"
    },
    {
      "code": "gn",
      "lang": "Guaraní",
      "sense": "to release",
      "word": "poi"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "to release",
      "word": "scatenare"
    },
    {
      "code": "la",
      "lang": "Latin",
      "sense": "to release",
      "word": "dimitto"
    },
    {
      "code": "la",
      "lang": "Latin",
      "sense": "to release",
      "word": "emitto"
    },
    {
      "code": "ms",
      "lang": "Malay",
      "sense": "to release",
      "word": "lepas"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "to release",
      "word": "desencadear"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "vypuskátʹ",
      "sense": "to release",
      "tags": [
        "imperfective"
      ],
      "word": "выпуска́ть"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "výpustitʹ",
      "sense": "to release",
      "tags": [
        "perfective"
      ],
      "word": "вы́пустить"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "to release",
      "word": "desencadenar"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "to release",
      "word": "libertar"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "to precipitate; to bring about",
      "word": "entfesseln"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "to precipitate; to bring about",
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ],
      "word": "vom Zaun brechen"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "to precipitate; to bring about",
      "word": "entfachen"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "to precipitate; to bring about",
      "word": "desencadenar"
    }
  ],
  "word": "unleash"
}

Download raw JSONL data for unleash meaning in English (10.0kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-01-06 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2025-01-01 using wiktextract (f889f65 and 8fbd9e8). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.