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Glite Dictionary
to unbutton

to unbutton

22 1.0
Undo the buttons on a piece of clothing
  • verb
  • /ʌnˈbʌtən/
translation icon : desabotonar
  • He quickly unbuttoned his coat as he entered the warm room.
  • unbuttoned shirt
  • unbuttoned her blouse
  • unbuttoned jacket

Teresa, just married, goes to the bathroom, unbuttons her blouse and shoots herself in the heart.

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Examples

  • At the top of the stairs, James loosened his tie and unbuttoned his top button.

    Blog text (3)

  • After a while, he took off his scarf, unbuttoned his greatcoat, and sat down at the table.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • Unbutton one little button here.

    Book Club (2018)

  • Do you want me to walk with my pants unbuttoned a little bit?

    Eggshells (1971)

  • I allowed her to remove my coat and even to begin unbuttoning my shirt.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • - Unbutton your shirt.

    Colombiana (2011)

  • "Where will we sleep?" He had removed his coat and was now unbuttoning his waistcoat.

    Blog text (18)

  • When she entered the bedroom, Michael saw that her blouse was half unbuttoned; she had pulled it on before coming in.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • Dwayne's standing in the bedroom doorway, unbuttoning his shirt, already getting ready for bed.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • Martin Mutford had lit a huge cigar, unbuttoned his collar, and loosened his tie.

    Fiction book (1990)

Synonyms

to undo
vsto unbutton
21 1.3

Unfasten something that is tied or fastened

is only used for opening sewn round closures on garments
to unfasten
vsto unbutton
5 3.4

To open something by undoing a button or zipper

is specific to releasing sewn round closures on garments

Antonyms

to button
84 1.0

To close clothing by pushing small round things through holes

How Undressed

to strip
  • NSFW
63 3.4
to undress
  • NSFW
88 2.0
to take off
∞ 1.5
to slip off
11 2.8
to unbutton
22 1.0

Surface Forms

unbutton infinitive
unbuttoned past
unbuttoned past participle
unbuttoning present participle
unbuttons third person singular

Morphology

unbutton = button (transparent) = un + button

The meaning is directly derived by adding the negating/reversive prefix 'un-' to the verb 'button' to indicate reversing the action.

Etymology

Unbutton combines un- ('do the opposite') and button ('a small fastener'), so to unbutton is to 'undo' the buttons and open your clothes.