Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- intransitive verb To free from a garment or device that muffles.
- intransitive verb To remove or cast off something that muffles.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To take a muffler from, as the face; remove a muffler or wrapping from, as a person.
- To throw off coverings or concealments.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- transitive verb To take a covering from, as the face; to uncover.
- transitive verb To remove the muffling of, as a drum.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb transitive To take a covering from, as the
face ; touncover . - verb transitive To remove the
muffling of, as adrum .
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word unmuffle.
Examples
-
So Purdy took her on his arm and escorted her — not exactly comfortably; for, said Polly, no one who had not tried it, knew how hard it was to walk arm-in-arm with a lame person, especially if you did not want to hurt his feelings — Purdy took her to the theatre, helped her to unmuffle and to change her boots, and bore her company till her brother arrived.
Australia Felix 2003
-
If she slept it came into her dreams, and her waking thoughts strove with hideous wilfulness to unmuffle that dead face.
A Life's Morning George Gissing 1880
-
“William Wilson,” and is based upon fancied resemblances of situation, which have not the least foundation in the facts, and upon the occurrence in both stories of the phrase, “Villain, unmuffle yourself!”
A Study Of Hawthorne Lathrop, George P 1876
-
I am fatigued, I will retire, and you, my dear Belinda, shall represent me; so tell them to open my doors, and unmuffle the knocker: let me hear the sound of music and dancing, and let the house be filled again, for
Tales and Novels — Volume 03 Maria Edgeworth 1808
-
When I am fatigued, I will retire, and you, my dear Belinda, shall represent me; so tell them to open my doors, and unmuffle the knocker: let me hear the sound of music and dancing, and let the house be filled again, for Heaven's sake.
Belinda 1801
-
But, prithee, ghost, unmuffle! chatter no more! wait till you're buried for that. "
Mardi: and A Voyage Thither, Vol. II (of 2) Herman Melville 1855
bilby commented on the word unmuffle
"Mr. and Mrs. van der Luyden could not remain deaf to such a call, and reluctantly but heroically they had come to town, unmuffled the house, and sent out invitations for two dinners and an evening reception."
- Edith Wharton, 'The Age of Innocence'.
September 20, 2009