as in to retract
to solemnly or formally reject or go back on (as something formerly adhered to)
the witness tried to unsay the very testimony that he had given a few days earlier
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Recent Examples of unsay
Elevate your typical tennis player costume with palpable tension, sustained eye contact and lots left unsaid.
10 of 12
Raygun
The Australian breakdancer certainly left an impression at the 2024 Paris Olympics, despite scoring 0 points.
—
Chiara Kim, People.com, 23 Oct. 2024
Left unsaid is the freeing up of workers’ time means those that can move forward are those that take on a more activist role within their businesses — advising, teaming up, and even identifying other areas open for AI assistance.
—Joe McKendrick, Forbes, 27 Sep. 2024
But one telling moment gives voice to what otherwise goes unsaid—a repugnant reminiscence of Jim Crow violence, addressed to Terry within earshot of the department’s one nonwhite officer, a Black woman named Jessica Sims (Zsané Jhé).
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 13 Sep. 2024
Left unsaid, and what troubled Marvin Cota’s family deep down, was that his story ended like so many others on the remote Duck Valley Indian Reservation.
—Gabe Stern, Los Angeles Times, 10 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for unsay 
Chiara Kim, People.com, 23 Oct. 2024
Left unsaid is the freeing up of workers’ time means those that can move forward are those that take on a more activist role within their businesses — advising, teaming up, and even identifying other areas open for AI assistance.
—Joe McKendrick, Forbes, 27 Sep. 2024
But one telling moment gives voice to what otherwise goes unsaid—a repugnant reminiscence of Jim Crow violence, addressed to Terry within earshot of the department’s one nonwhite officer, a Black woman named Jessica Sims (Zsané Jhé).
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 13 Sep. 2024
Left unsaid, and what troubled Marvin Cota’s family deep down, was that his story ended like so many others on the remote Duck Valley Indian Reservation.
—Gabe Stern, Los Angeles Times, 10 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for unsay
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unsay
Verb
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The big question with this trend is how durable are the internal mechanisms used to retract integrated cables?—
Andrew Liszewski,
The Verge,
22 Jan. 2025
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Share [Findings] The Journal of Pediatric Genetics retracted a study on Islamic beliefs concerning the possible supernatural causes of birth defects on the grounds that the research lacked a scientific basis.—
Rafil Kroll-Zaidi,
Harper's Magazine,
22 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Moicano stepped in on weigh-in day when Makhachev’s initial opponent, Arman Tsarukyan withdrew with a back injury.—
Trent Reinsmith,
Forbes,
19 Jan. 2025
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The Israel Defense Forces have been slow to withdraw from their position in the southern part of Lebanon despite a Nov. 27 ceasefire deal that gave the Lebanese Army and the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon exclusive jurisdiction over the region.—
Timothy Nerozzi,
Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government,
18 Jan. 2025
Verb
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On June 14, 2024, Putin said Ukraine must also renounce any plans to join NATO.—
Paul Du Quenoy,
Newsweek,
9 Jan. 2025
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Like the kamikaze pilots in the same story, whose deaths lost their sacred meaning once Emperor Hirohito renounced his divinity after the war, the plotters in 1936 worshipped not a man but a deity.—
Ian Buruma,
The New Yorker,
6 Jan. 2025
Verb
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And the Supreme Court has reaffirmed it in the years since — including in the 1982 case Plyler v. Doe, which held that states cannot deny students a free public education based on their immigration status.—
Rachel Treisman,
NPR,
23 Jan. 2025
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Her office denied Spotlight on Maryland’s interview requests, but provided a comment from the legislator.—
Gary Collins,
Baltimore Sun,
23 Jan. 2025
Verb
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White House officials said on Friday that the truth behind the mysterious ailments known as Havana Syndrome was still unknown, contradicting a new intelligence assessment about what had befallen spies and diplomats for the last nine years.—
Julian E. Barnes,
New York Times,
10 Jan. 2025
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Experts say that the atmospheric aerosol data used in the calculations could be behind the contradicting conclusions.—
Matthew Glasser,
ABC News,
9 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near unsay
Cite this Entry
“Unsay.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unsay. Accessed 30 Jan. 2025.
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