to unbridle

2 8.8

Take the bridle off a horse

verb
/ʌnˈbraɪdəl/

: desbridar

After the long ride, she decided to unbridle the horse and let it roam freely in the pasture.

Examples

The Star Route mail carrier laughed as he reached to unbridle the horse.

Fiction book (1999)
Before the competition, the trainer will unbridle the horses to allow them to relax.
He carefully unbridled the mule, making sure it was calm before leading it to the stable.

Synonyms

to untack

vsto unbridle

Jargon

9.1

To take off a horse's saddle and other riding gear after a ride

removes only the head gear from the animal rather than all equipment

Antonyms

to bridle

1 5.7

To put a set of straps and a bit on a horse's head to control it

Phrasal Verbs

to unbridle emotion

7.3

To show strong feelings openly without holding them back

to unbridle passion

7.2

Show strong feelings openly without holding back

Surface Forms

unbridle infinitive

unbridled past

unbridled past participle

unbridling present participle

unbridles third person singular

Morphology

unbridle = bridle (transparent) = un + bridle

The verb is formed by productive negational prefix 'un-' + the verb 'bridle', so learners who know 'bridle' and 'un-' can infer the meaning.

Etymology

The word unbridle comes from un- meaning 'remove' and bridle meaning the gear that 'controls' a horse, so to unbridle is to take the bridle off and let the horse be free.