as in to unbend
to cause to follow a line that is without bends or curls
straighten that extension cord—it should be just long enough to reach the wall outlet
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Recent Examples of straighten
Bend and straighten your arms to complete a push-up.
—
Jenny McCoy, SELF, 16 June 2025
Tim eventually straightened himself out with the help of his mother, Teri, and older sisters, Kristi and Amy.
—Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 15 June 2025
Daltrey says that gesture help straighten him out, and pushed him through life to prove Kibblewhite wrong.
—Jim Clash, Forbes.com, 14 June 2025
Worrying about getting heat damage when straightening curly hair is one reason why some might just leave it to the professionals.
—Jamie Wilson, Glamour, 2 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for straighten
Jenny McCoy, SELF, 16 June 2025
Tim eventually straightened himself out with the help of his mother, Teri, and older sisters, Kristi and Amy.
—Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 15 June 2025
Daltrey says that gesture help straighten him out, and pushed him through life to prove Kibblewhite wrong.
—Jim Clash, Forbes.com, 14 June 2025
Worrying about getting heat damage when straightening curly hair is one reason why some might just leave it to the professionals.
—Jamie Wilson, Glamour, 2 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for straighten
Recent Examples of Synonyms for straighten
Verb
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The paper watch sensors survived preliminary stress testing that involved bending and unbending for 300 cycles.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
9 Jan. 2017
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Ceaseless in his service, unbending in his dignity, and revered for his commitment to our common humanity.—
Natalie Oganesyan,
Deadline,
29 Dec. 2024
Verb
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One fall day in 1856, a family of Eastern gray squirrels in rural New York uncurled from a cozy nest in a chestnut tree, looked around, and joined half a billion other squirrels on a multi-state walkabout.—
Christine Peterson,
Vox,
23 Dec. 2024
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Exhale, lower the bridge down, then uncurl the trunk to bring the right hip and shoulder back to the ground.—
Jen Murphy,
WSJ,
16 June 2022
Cite this Entry
“Straighten.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/straighten. Accessed 19 Jul. 2025.
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