MEANING
1. To unwind thread, film, or another wound material from a spool or reel.
2. To reveal or recount events, thoughts, or memories gradually, one part after another.
Use it for
Describe a sequence gradually unwinding into view.Turns recollection into a physical motion, useful for a narrative that emerges in pieces.
Words that belong together
- unspool a reel
- unspool film
- unspool a memory
- events unspool
- unspool thread
- unspool a story
On the page
The old projector unspooled the brittle film through its clicking gate.
During the interview, he unspooled the story of the winter expedition.
Nearby words
Opposite meanings
Word forms
- Base
- unspool
- Past tense
- unspooled
- Past participle
- unspooled
- Present participle
- unspooling
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- unspool
- Present continuous
- am/is/are unspooling
- Present perfect
- have/has unspooled
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been unspooling
- Past
- unspooled
- Past continuous
- was/were unspooling
- Past perfect
- had unspooled
- Past perfect continuous
- had been unspooling
- Future
- will unspool
- Future continuous
- will be unspooling
- Future perfect
- will have unspooled
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been unspooling
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
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Usage notes
Literal use means drawing a wound material from a spool; figurative use extends this image to a sequence unfolding over time. Sense 2: Figurative use treats a sequence as thread drawn from a reel; it often emphasizes gradual, continuous revelation.
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