Definition

1. Verb:
   • To retract or withdraw (a statement that one has made); to take back something one has said.

Usage

• The verb "unsay" is used to describe the act of formally or explicitly withdrawing a spoken statement, often because it was incorrect, inappropriate, or regretted. It implies an attempt to negate the effect of one's own words.
• It is a transitive verb and is often used with nouns like "words," "statement," "accusation," or "remark."
• Common Constructions: ; .

Examples

Advanced Usage

• "To unsay what one has said": A formal or emphatic way to express retraction.
  • In a public apology, the politician attempted to unsay what he had said during the heated debate.
• Used in conditional or hypothetical contexts to express regret.
  • If I could unsay those words, I would do so in an instant.

Variants and Related Words

• Retract (verb): To withdraw a statement or opinion.
  • The newspaper was forced to retract the false story.
• Recant (verb): To formally withdraw or renounce a belief or statement, often under pressure.
  • The scientist was pressured to recant her controversial theory.
• Take back (phrasal verb): A more common, informal equivalent.
  • I'm sorry, I take back what I said about your project.

Synonyms

• Retract
• Withdraw
• Recant
• Take back
• Disavow (to deny responsibility for or connection with)

Antonyms

• Assert
• Declare
• Affirm
• State
• Maintain

Related Idioms and Phrases

• "Swallow one's words": To be forced to retract a statement, often in a humiliating way; to admit one was wrong.
  • After the evidence was presented, he had no choice but to swallow his words.
• "Eat one's words": Similar to "swallow one's words," meaning to admit that what one said was wrong.
  • He boasted he would win easily, but he had to eat his words after his defeat.

Verb

1. take back what one has said
   • He swallowed his words