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to unseal

to unseal

20 4.3
To open something by breaking or removing a seal
  • verb
  • /ʌnˈsiːl/
translation icon : desellar
  • The attorney filed a request to unseal the evidence in order to present a more complete argument.
  • left unsealed

The criminal case was unsealed on Tuesday morning as lawmakers in Washington conducted a hearing into the FTX bankruptcy.

Examples

  • The Federal Bureau of Prisons requires that letters to prisoners are sent in unsealed envelopes.

  • Later that morning, a 15-count, 29-page indictment was unsealed in U.S. District.

    Blog text (22)
  • The GOP should put pressure on him to unseal all of his records.

    Blog text (5)
  • In a few minutes I will give orders to unseal the decks.

  • If your client won't sign, you cannot move the court to unseal them.

  • She ruled to unseal the documents.

  • ABC, wanting to make public certain Philip Morris documents, asked that they be unsealed.

    Academic text (1995)
  • Earlier today, an indictment was unsealed in Federal Court in the Northern District of lllinois, charging Jamal Abu Zikri with the assassination of the president of the United States with a rifle.

  • The judge decided to unseal the confidential documents to provide transparency in the case.

  • After much debate, the officials agreed to unseal the records that had been kept secret for years.

Synonyms

to open up
vsto unseal
64 2.5

Make something not closed, for example by removing a lock or cover

is the general idea of making open rather than specifically breaking closures
to crack open
vsto unseal
15 2.6

Open something like a bottle or box to get what is inside

involves splitting or force rather than carefully removing a closure
to break the seal
vsto unseal
8 5.1

Open a closed container or use it for the first time

opens by removing a formal closure rather than any general opening
to unfasten
vsto unseal
5 3.4

To open something by undoing a button or zipper

means opening by releasing fastened parts rather than breaking a bonded closure
to uncap
vsto unseal
1 3.2

Remove the cap from something like a bottle or pen

focuses on taking off a lidlike closure rather than breaking a bonded closure

Antonyms

457 2.5

To close something tightly to stop air or water getting in

How Open

to break open
13 2.1
to unseal
20 4.3
to open
1.0
to unfasten
5 3.4

Surface Forms

unseal infinitive
unsealed past
unsealed past participle
unsealing present participle
unseals third person singular

Morphology

unseal = seal (transparent) = un + seal + un

Meaning is directly derived from the productive prefix 'un-' (reverse/remove) + the verb 'seal', so learners can infer 'to remove a seal' or 'open by breaking a seal'.

Etymology

The word unseal starts with un-, meaning 'reverse' or 'not', and ends with seal, which means 'to close tightly', as when you seal an envelope. So to unseal something is to open it by breaking or removing its seal.