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unhinged

 - 4 dictionary results

un⋅hinged

[uhn-hinjd]
–adjective
1. having no hinge or hinges, or with the hinges removed: an unhinged gate.
2. unsettled, disordered, or distraught: He became unhinged when his friend died.

Origin:
1710–20; (def. 1) un- 1 + hinged; (def. 2) unhinge + -ed 2

un⋅hinge

[uhn-hinj]
–verb (used with object), -hinged, -hing⋅ing.
1. to remove (a door or the like) from hinges.
2. to open wide by or as if by removing supporting hinges: to unhinge one's jaws.
3. to upset; unbalance; disorient; throw into confusion or turmoil: to unhinge the mind.
4. to dislocate or disrupt the normal operation of; unsettle: to unhinge plans.
5. to detach or separate from something.
6. to cause to waver or vacillate: to unhinge supporters of conservative policies.

Origin:
1605–15; un- 2 + hinge


un⋅hinge⋅ment, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To unhinged
un·hinge   (ŭn-hĭnj')   
tr.v.   un·hinged, un·hing·ing, un·hing·es
  1. To remove from hinges.

  2. To remove the hinges from.

  3. To confuse; disrupt.

  4. Informal To derange; unbalance: He was unhinged by his wife's death.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

unhinge 
used earlier in the mental sense of "to disorder" the mind, etc. (1612) than in the literal one of "to take (a door, etc.) off its hinges" (1616); from un- (2) + a verb derivative of hinge.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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