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to unstitch

to unstitch

1 6.3
To pull out the thread used to join pieces of cloth or close a cut
  • verb
  • /ʌnˈstɪtʃ/
translation icon : descoser
  • As Grama also started to unstitch some of Susan's wayward seams, she continued, "Well, to begin with, you need to understand that learning is a lifelong process."

Examples

  • In return, Jennifer continued to help Susan unstitch her blocks in preparation for resewing them together with her newly perfected skill.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • "And if even all my hair falls out, I'm not going to unstitch the embroidery!" Grandma vowed.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • After I read over the comments here, I unstitched the bag I have and dumped out the contents.

    Blog text (18)
  • I took the scissors and unstitched it.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • Well, "I say, "Hannusya, wouldn't it be nice if you'd unstitch the embroidery?"

    Fiction book (1996)
  • She sat in the TV room and unstitched every single sequin in the area around the stained section of the sari.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • Susan had again carefully, and this time secretly, unstitched part of each block and replaced some of her original choice of muted beige pieces with a new sunny yellow fabric.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • Or thirty drafts—endless late-night stitching and unstitching—to figure out "no, this is stupid, give it up."

    Academic text (2010)
  • But if you were to begin to pull it apart to know it at its core, you'd have to unstitch 88 inches of waxed thread sewn in a factory on the slopes of a Costa Rican volcano, peel back

    Fiction book (2002)
  • She carefully unstitched the seams of the dress to alter its fit.

Synonyms

to unpick
vsto unstitch
1 6.4

To remove stitches from fabric by taking out the thread

includes that action but also applies to taking stitches from wounds
to unsew
vsto unstitch
8.4

To remove stitches from cloth or clothing

is used for taking stitches out of fabric or a wound
to unthread
vsto unstitch
5.1

To take thread out of a needle, cloth, or hole

is specific to taking sewn stitches out rather than any loose thread

Antonyms

242 1.0

Join, fix and make clothes and other things made of cloth using a needle and thread or a machine

99 2.5

To join or repair cloth with a needle and thread

Surface Forms

unstitch infinitive
unstitched past
unstitched past participle
unstitching present participle
unstitches third person singular

Morphology

unstitch = stitch (transparent) = un + stitch

The productive negative prefix 'un-' applied to the verb 'stitch' yields the predictable meaning 'to reverse or remove stitches'; this is a straightforward morphological negation.

Etymology

The word unstitch is made of un- 'undo' and stitch 'to sew', so it means to 'undo a stitch' and take out the thread or stitches from cloth or a wound.