Unshackle

verb

verb ·3 syllables ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To remove shackles from someone or something.

    "The captain ordered that the guards unshackle and release the prisoner, as he had served his sentence."

  2. 2
    To remove restrictions or inhibitions; to allow full freedom and power.

    "1818, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, On Poesy or Art Painting was, as it were, a new art, and being unshackled by old models it chose its own subjects, and took an eagle’s flight."

Synonyms

All synonyms
unchaindischargeemancipatefreefreeliberate

Example

More examples

"The captain ordered that the guards unshackle and release the prisoner, as he had served his sentence."

Etymology

From un- + shackle.

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