unreinv.
/(ˌ)ʌnˈreɪn/, U.S. /ˌənˈreɪn/ transitive. To free (a horse) from reins; (usually more generally) to release from restraint; to unleash.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > lack of subjection > freedom or liberty > liberation > set free [verb (transitive)] > free from restraint > of utterances, passions, or thoughts
unbridlea1440
unrein1567
unchain1793
unbottle1862
undam1885
1567 W. Painter Palace of Pleasure II. xxvi. f. 263v Desirous not to suffer the carelesse and vnbrideled appetites of our husbandes to bee vnrained.
1649 J. Ogilby tr. Virgil Georgicks ii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 74 We have past now through a spacious plaine, And now's high time our smoking steeds t'unrein.
1694 J. Addison Acct. Greatest Eng. Poets in Ann. Miscellany 326 How negligently Graceful he unrein's His Verse, and writes in loose Familiar strains.
1702 D. Defoe Reformation of Manners i. 15 Tell us why he..Unreins no Vengeance, lets no Thunders fly, When Villains prosper.
1747 G. Costard Observ. Bk. Job 51 The Sun unrein'd his fiery Steeds.
1788 W. Darton Little Truths II. 39 It was necessary he should unrein the horse in the shafts.
1827 T. Hogg Fabulous Hist. Cornwall ii. 169 By charms they, stern, unrein The winds and storms, to vex the main.
1851 Bentley's Misc. Aug. 147 If a soldier's life..can atone for the sad consequences of unreining an ungovernable temper.
1911 Farm Jrnl. July 389/1 When a horse balks, or shows any signs of balking, it is a very good plan to unrein him.
1996 P. S. Estess Money Advice for Successful Remarriage (2001) viii. 133 You have to come to terms with a new reality, invent traditions, and unrein your imagination.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2014; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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