Definition

1. Verb (transitive):
   • To remove the clothing or covering from (someone or something): To take off garments or a protective layer, exposing what is underneath.
   • To reveal or make bare; to expose: To strip away concealment, often in a metaphorical sense, making thoughts, feelings, or truths visible.

Usage

• The primary meaning is the literal act of removing clothes or a physical covering.
• The secondary meaning is figurative, describing the act of revealing something that was hidden, such as emotions or facts.
• It is a formal or literary verb.

Examples

• Literal (removing clothing/covering):
  • The nurse helped to unclothe the patient for the medical examination.
  • She unclothed the statue to clean it.
• Figurative (revealing something hidden):
  • In her autobiography, she unclothed the struggles of her early career.
  • The investigation unclothed a network of corruption within the company.

Advanced Usage

• "to unclothe oneself": A reflexive construction meaning to take off one's own clothes.
  • He unclothed himself and stepped into the shower.
• Used in formal or literary contexts to add gravity or a sense of thorough exposure.

Variants and Related Words

• Unclothed (adjective): Not wearing clothes; naked.
  • The unclothed figure in the painting.
• Disrobe (verb): A more common synonym for the literal act of removing clothes, often used in formal contexts.
• Divest (verb): Can mean to strip or deprive, sometimes used similarly in a figurative sense (e.g., ).

Synonyms

• Disrobe: To undress.
• Strip: To remove all clothing or covering from.
• Bare: To uncover or expose to view.
• Expose: To make visible, to reveal.

Antonyms

• Clothe: To dress, to provide with clothing.
• Cover: To place something over; to conceal.
• Veil: To cover or conceal.

Related Phrases

• To unclothe the truth: To reveal the honest facts.
  • The journalist's report aimed to unclothe the truth about the event.
• To unclothe one's soul: A poetic phrase meaning to reveal one's deepest feelings or secrets.
  • In his poetry, he unclothes his soul for the reader.

Verb

1. get undressed
   • please don't undress in front of everybody!
   • She strips in front of strangers every night for a living
2. take the covers off
   • She unclothed her innermost feelings
3. strip
   • unclothe your heart of envy