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to ungag

to ungag

1 8.0
To remove a gag from someone's mouth so they can speak
  • verb
  • /ʌnˈɡæɡ/
: desatar
  • - Oh, we'll have to ungag him, too.

Examples

  • Ungag him.

  • In order for him to tell his side of the story, she needed to ungag him first.

  • The rescuers decided to ungag the hostages so they could finally express their fears.

  • The judge ordered the authorities to ungag the whistleblower during the trial.

Synonyms

to loosen someone's tongue
vsto ungag
  • Informal
5 6.7

Make someone talk more and tell secrets

involves physically removing a mouth restraint rather than persuading someone to speak

Antonyms

25 7.1

To stop someone from speaking, often by using rules or force

How Free

to liberate
202 4.3
to ungag
1 8.0
to silence
177 3.5
to muzzle
  • Literature
14 7.5

Surface Forms

ungag infinitive
ungagged past
ungagged past participle
ungagging present participle
ungags third person singular

Morphology

ungag = gag (transparent) = un + gag

The word 'ungag' is transparently derived from 'gag' with the prefix 'un-' indicating reversal of the action.

Etymology

Ungag breaks into un- and gag: un- means 'remove' and gag means 'to stop someone speaking or to cover their mouth', so to ungag someone is to take the gag away and let them speak.