unrigged
Definition
Adjective: 1. Stripped of rigging: Describes a vessel, typically a ship or boat, from which the rigging (the system of ropes, chains, and other equipment used to support and control the masts, sails, and yards) has been removed or taken down.
Usage
The adjective "unrigged" is used almost exclusively to describe the state of a sailing vessel. It indicates that the vessel is not equipped to sail because its essential sailing apparatus has been dismantled or is absent. It is the opposite of "rigged."
Examples
- After the long voyage, the old schooner was unrigged and pulled into dry dock for maintenance.
- The harbor was full of unrigged boats during the winter months, their masts bare against the gray sky.
- For the museum display, they used an unrigged replica of a 17th-century galleon to show the hull's construction.
Advanced Usage
- Figurative Use: While rare, "unrigged" can be used figuratively to describe something that has been stripped of its functional or decorative apparatus, making it inoperative or bare.
- After the scandal, the politician's public image was utterly unrigged, leaving only the stark facts of his career.
Variants and Related Words
- Unrig (verb): The action of removing the rigging from a vessel.
- The crew worked to unrig the ship before the storm hit.
- Rigged (adjective): Equipped with rigging; ready to sail. (Antonym)
- Dismantled (adjective): Taken apart. (A more general synonym in some contexts).
Synonyms
- Dismasted (specifically means having the mast or masts removed, which is often part of being unrigged).
- Stripped (in a general sense).
- Bare (describing the state of the masts).
Antonyms
- Rigged
- Equipped
- Fitted out
Adjective
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stripped of rigging
