unfold
//ʌnˈfoʊld//
Forms
- present (v1)
- unfold
- past (v2)
- unfolded
- past participle (v3)
- unfolded
- present participle
- unfolding
- 3rd person singular
- unfolds
- Plural
- unfolds
Definitions
1.To undo a folding.
2.To turn out; to happen; to develop.
- Events unfolded in an unexpected way.
- The protests in Brazil are unfolding just as its long and heralded economic boom may be coming to an end.
- Memento unfolds over 22 scenes, or, more accurately, 22 strands of time, the main strand (in color) moving backward in increments, and another strand (in black and white) going forward, though the two overlap profoundly.
3.To lay open to view or contemplation; to bring out in all the details, or by successive development; to reveal.
- Unfold the passion of my love.
4.To become unfolded.
- The curtains unfolded to reveal the stage.
1.In functional programming, a kind of higher-order function that is the opposite of a fold.
Frequency
Overall
Rare· #4833
By learning goal
- Everyday conversation
- Rare
- General reading & writing
- Rare
- Academic
- Rare
- Literature
- Rare
Related words
Etymology
From Middle English unfolden
From Old English unfealdan (“to unfold”), equivalent to un- + fold.