unfold
Pronunciation
  • (RP) IPA: /ʌnˈfəʊld/
  • (America) IPA: /ʌnˈfoʊld/
Verb

unfold (unfolds, present participle unfolding; past and past participle unfolded)

  1. To undo a folding.
    • Unfold thy forehead gathered into frowns.
    to unfold a map; to unfold a tablecloth; she unpacks the new dress and unfolds it carefully
  2. (intransitive) To turn out; to happen; to develop.
    • 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. (transitive) To reveal.
    • c. 1599–1602, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358 ↗, [Act I, scene v]:
      Pity me not, but lend thy serious hearing  To what I shall unfold.
  4. To open (anything covered or closed); to lay open to view or contemplation; to bring out in all the details, or by successive development.
    • c. 1601–1602, William Shakespeare, “Twelfe Night, or VVhat You VVill”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358 ↗, [Act I, scene iv]:
      Unfold the passion of my love.
    to unfold one's designs;  to unfold the principles of a science
  5. To release from a fold or pen.
    to unfold sheep
Synonyms Antonyms Translations Translations Translations Noun

unfold (plural unfolds)

  1. (computing, programming) In functional programming, a kind of higher-order function that is the opposite of a fold.



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