Synonyms

unfurl

American

[uhn-furl] / ʌnˈfɜrl /

verb (used with object)

to spread or shake out from a furled state, as a sail or a flag; unfold.

verb (used without object)

to become unfurled.

unfurl British

/ ʌnˈfɜːl /

verb

to unroll, unfold, or spread out or be unrolled, unfolded, or spread out from a furled state

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

unfurlable adjective

Etymology

Origin of unfurl

First recorded in 1635–45; un- ² + furl

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.

The florist-by-trade gestures behind her to hundreds of flowers contained in buckets — blue thistles, ivory anemones and calla lilies painted silver — all twisted and unfurling into the air.

From Los Angeles Times

As the series unfurled, proving to a skeptical entertainment industry that women can be compelling antiheroes too, much of that talk revolved around Byrne.

From Los Angeles Times

After a courtship that unfurled in fits and starts, they married in 1996.

From Salon

As night set in, that goodness he was feeling unfurled even more with the vines and arrows.

From Literature

They also are indignant about the government unfurling a welcome mat for Fuyao.

From The Wall Street Journal

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023