Definition

1. Verb:
   • To remove from hinges: To detach something, typically a door or gate, from its hinges.
   • To make mentally unstable or emotionally disturbed: To cause someone to become upset, unbalanced, or mentally unsettled; to disturb profoundly.

Usage and Examples

• Literal meaning (to remove from hinges):

  • We had to unhinge the door to get the new sofa into the apartment.
  • The carpenter unhinged the old gate before installing the new one.

• Figurative meaning (to disturb mentally):

  • The sudden, tragic news seemed to unhinge him completely.
  • Constant stress and lack of sleep can unhinge even the most stable person.

Advanced Usage

• Passive voice: Often used to describe a state of being mentally disturbed.
  • After the accident, he became completely unhinged.
• Causative use: Describes the action of causing the disturbance.
  • The relentless pressure from the investigation finally unhinged the suspect.

Variants and Related Words

• Unhinged (adjective): Describing a state of mental instability or emotional disturbance.
  • He was behaving in an unhinged manner, shouting at strangers on the street.

Synonyms

• Dislodge (for the literal meaning).
• Upset, disturb, perturb, unbalance, derange (for the figurative meaning).

Notes on Different Meanings

The word has a clear progression from a concrete, physical action (removing a door from its hinges) to a powerful metaphorical meaning. The figurative sense implies a loss of stability or sanity, as if the mind's foundational supports have been removed.

Verb

1. remove the hinges from
   • unhinge the door
2. disturb in mind or make uneasy or cause to be worried or alarmed
   • She was rather perturbed by the news that her father was seriously ill