UNFOLD

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does unfold mean? 

• UNFOLD (verb)
  The verb UNFOLD has 4 senses:

1. develop or come to a promising stage

2. open to the view

3. extend or stretch out to a greater or the full length

4. spread out or open from a closed or folded state

  Familiarity information: UNFOLD used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• UNFOLD (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they unfold    ... he / she / it unfolds   
Past simple: unfolded   
Past participle: unfolded   
-ing form: unfolding   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Develop or come to a promising stage

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

blossom; blossom forth; blossom out; unfold

Context example:

Youth blossomed into maturity

Hypernyms (to "unfold" is one way to...):

develop (grow, progress, unfold, or evolve through a process of evolution, natural growth, differentiation, or a conducive environment)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s

Derivation:

unfolding (a developmental process)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Open to the view

Classified under:

Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling

Context example:

A walk through town will unfold many interesting buildings

Hypernyms (to "unfold" is one way to...):

bring out; reveal; unveil (make visible)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Sense 3

Meaning:

Extend or stretch out to a greater or the full length

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Synonyms:

extend; stretch; stretch out; unfold

Context example:

extend the TV antenna

Hypernyms (to "unfold" is one way to...):

change form; change shape; deform (assume a different shape or form)

Verb group:

extend (open or straighten out; unbend)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s something

Sense 4

Meaning:

Spread out or open from a closed or folded state

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

open; spread; spread out; unfold

Context example:

spread your arms

Hypernyms (to "unfold" is one way to...):

undo (cancel, annul, or reverse an action or its effect)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "unfold"):

divaricate (spread apart)

exfoliate (spread by opening the leaves of)

grass (spread out clothes on the grass to let it dry and bleach)

butterfly (cut and spread open, as in preparation for cooking)

uncross (change from a crossed to an uncrossed position)

splay (spread open or apart)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s something PP

Antonym:

fold (bend or lay so that one part covers the other)

 Context examples 

"I have for myself thoughts at the present. Later I shall unfold to you."

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

He unfolded a paper and laid it upon the table.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Miss Clarissa, unfolding her arms for the first time, took the notes and glanced at them.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

I am not putting the thoughts into his head, but helping him unfold those already there.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

Unfolding it, I found that it consisted of three pages torn from his note-book and addressed to me.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Allow the situation to unfold naturally.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

This leads to an accumulation of unfolded and misfolded ubiquitinated proteins and may eventually induce cancer cell apoptosis, and inhibition of cancer cell growth.

(HDAC6 Inhibitor ACY-1215, NCI Thesaurus)

This protein is involved in protein glycosylation and the unfolded protein response.

(Exostosin-Like 3, NCI Thesaurus)

This protein plays a role in both the response to unfolded proteins and transcription.

(Cyclic AMP-Responsive Element-Binding Protein 3-Like Protein 4, NCI Thesaurus)

This protein plays a role in the unfolded protein response.

(Cyclic AMP-Responsive Element-Binding Protein 3-Like Protein 1, NCI Thesaurus)