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unbend

 [uhn-bend]   Origin

un·bend

   [uhn-bend] verb, -bent or (Archaic) -bend·ed, -bend·ing.
verb (used with object)
1.
to straighten from a bent form or position.
2.
to release from the strain of formality, intense effort, etc.; relax: to unbend one's mind.
3.
to release from tension, as a bow.
4.
Nautical.
a.
to loose or untie, as a sail or rope.
b.
to unfasten from spars or stays, as sails.
verb (used without object)
5.
to relax the strictness of formality or ceremony; act in an easy, genial manner: Imagine him unbending!
6.
to become unbent; straighten.

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Unbend is one of our favorite verbs.
So is kibitz. Does it mean:
to expurgate (a written work) by removing or modifying passages considered vulgar or objectionable.
chat, to converse
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Origin:
1200–50; Middle English; see un-2, bend1

Related forms
un·bend·a·ble, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To unbend
Collins
World English Dictionary
unbend (ʌnˈbɛnd)
 
—vb , -bends, -bending, -bent
1.  to release or be released from the restraints of formality and ceremony
2.  informal to relax (the mind) or (of the mind) to become relaxed
3.  to become or be made straightened out from an originally bent shape or position
4.  (tr) nautical
 a.  to remove (a sail) from a stay, mast, yard, etc
 b.  to untie (a rope, etc) or cast (a cable) loose
 
un'bendable
 
—adj

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

unbend
"to relax a bow by unstringing it," mid-13c., from un- (2) + bend. Figurative meaning "to become genial, relax" (1748) has a sense opposite to that of unbending "inflexible, obstinate" (1680s), which does not derive from the bowstringing image.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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