unfurl

Meanings

1. 1verbtransitive or intransitive

   To open out something that was rolled or folded up so that it spreads fully.

   Grammar: With an object it means you open it: unfurl a flag; without one, the thing itself opens: the flag unfurled.

   Patterns

   • unfurl something
   • something unfurls

   The crew unfurled the sails as the wind rose.

   Fern leaves slowly unfurl in spring.

   She unfurled the poster and pinned it to the wall.

2. 2verbintransitivefigurative

   To develop or reveal itself gradually, as an event, story or view does.

   Grammar: No object follows; the subject is the thing that develops: the plot unfurls.

   Patterns

   • something unfurls before someone

   The story unfurls slowly over six hundred pages.

   A rolling valley unfurled before them as they climbed.

   Events began to unfurl faster than anyone expected.

Word forms

Common combinations

unfurl a flag

Students unfurled a flag at the game.

unfurl a banner

Protesters unfurled a banner on the bridge.

unfurl its petals

The flower unfurled its petals at dawn.

slowly unfurl

The map slowly unfurled across the table.

unfurl a sail

They unfurled a sail to catch the wind.

Synonyms and how they differ

unroll

Unroll means opening something that is rolled, while unfurl also fits flags, sails and leaves that are folded or wrapped.

unfold

Unfold works with anything folded and is more everyday; unfurl suggests a larger, more graceful opening.

spread out

Spread out is neutral and says nothing about the thing having been rolled up first.

unwrap

Unwrap means taking off a covering, and unfurl is about opening out something that is itself folded or rolled.

Opposites

Word family

furl verb

to roll up and fasten a sail or flag

unfurled adjective

opened out

unfurling noun

the act of opening out

Commonly confused: unfurl or unfold?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “unfurl”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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