Word.ws English Dictionary

unstate

/ʌnˈsteɪt/

unstate verb: to deprive of state or dignity.

Verb (1)

unstate (third-person singular simple present unstates, present participle unstating, simple past and past participle unstated)

  1. (transitive) To deprive of state or dignity.
    • I would unstate myself, to be in a due resolution.c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount...
    • High-battled Caesar will unstate his happiness.c. 1606–1607 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard...

Verb (2)

unstate (third-person singular simple present unstates, present participle unstating, simple past and past participle unstated)

  1. (transitive) To withdraw (something previously stated); to unsay or retract.
    • Of course protectionists will be indignant at this plain way of stating the case; but see if they can unstate it.1884, H. W. Furber, Which? Protection, Free Trade, Or Revenue Reform, page 204
    • Acknowledgment unstates such implications and thus seems to legitimate victims' claims and status and vindicate their status and position.2009, Joanna R. Quinn, Reconciliation(s), page 40

Forms of unstate

third-person singular presentunstates
present participleunstating
past participleunstated
pastunstated

Origin of unstate

From un- + state (noun).

From un- + state (verb).

Questions about unstate

What does unstate mean?
Unstate means to deprive of state or dignity.
What part of speech is unstate?
Unstate is a verb.
How do you pronounce unstate?
Unstate is pronounced /ʌnˈsteɪt/.
What is the past tense of unstate?
The past tense of unstate is unstated.

Words near unstate in the dictionary

  1. unstartling
  2. unstartlingly
  3. unstarts
  4. unstarved
  5. unstatable
  6. unstate
  7. unstateable
  8. unstated
  9. unstatedly
  10. unstatedness
  11. unstateliness

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: unstate (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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