Definition of "unbend" []

• To release from mental tension, strain, or formality; relax. (verb-transitive)
• To release (a bow, for example) from flexure or tension. (verb-transitive)
• Nautical To untie or loosen (a rope or sail). (verb-transitive)
• To straighten (something crooked or bent): unbend a paper clip. (verb-transitive)
• To become less tense; relax. (verb-intransitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "They call me Goddess, Angel, and court me with dainties fit for queens 'tables and farfetched wines such as unbend the soul from cares."
• "So badly did his misused body stiffen, that when he was called it required another ten minutes and a second glass of whisky to unbend his joints and limber up the muscles."
• "When I took the steering-oar I had first to unbend her cramped fingers."