Unfurl

//ʌnˈfəːl// verb

verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To unroll or release something that had been rolled up, typically a sail or a flag.

    "They unfurled the flag at the start of the festival."

  2. 2
    unroll, unfold, or spread out or be unrolled, unfolded, or spread out from a furled state wordnet
  3. 3
    To roll out or debut anything. figuratively

    "When will we be unfurling the new feature?"

  4. 4
    To open up by unrolling. intransitive
  5. 5
    To turn out or unfold; to evolve; to progress. figuratively, intransitive

Synonyms

All synonyms
barebreak the sealbring to lightdevelopdevolvedisclose

Example

More examples

"The Starshade is an immense, folding iris that has been proposed as a way to block light from distant stars. It would unfurl to a diameter of about 85 feet (26 meters) in space, about the size of a standard baseball diamond."

Etymology

From un- + furl.

Related phrases

roll outroll upturn out

More for "unfurl"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.