unbend

Verb

unbend (third-person singular simple present unbends, present participle unbending, simple past and past participle unbent or (archaic) unbended)

1. To remove a bend so as to make, or allow to become, straight.
   • to unbend a bow
   • He leant tensely against the corridor wall and frowned like a man trying to unbend a corkscrew by telekinesis.1982, Douglas Adams, Life, the Universe and Everything, page 61
2. To release (a load) from a strain or from exertion; to set at ease for a time; to relax.
   • to unbend the mind from study or care
   • You do unbend your noble strength.c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount...
3. To unfasten sails from the spars or stays to which are attached for use.
4. To cast loose or untie
   • Unbend the rope.
5. To cease to be bent; to become straight.
6. To relax in exertion, attention, severity, or the like
   • He spent the afternoon shaping a swagger-stick from the branch of jarrah and talking with Miss La Rue, who had sufficiently unbent toward him to notice his existence.1918 September–November, Edgar Rice Burroughs, “The Land That Time Forgot”, in The Blue Book Magazine, Chicago, Ill.: Story-press Corp., →OCLC; republished as chapter VI, in Hugo Gernsback, editor...
7. (archaic) to enjoy oneself; to become affable and free from formality