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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of straighten
For generations, Black people have been told that our natural textures needed to be tamed, straightened, or hidden, and locs stood as both resistance and reclamation.
—
Jailynn Tayor, Essence, 21 Oct. 2025
Make sure the tires reconnect with the road - During the skid, wait until the tires reconnect with the road and then gently straighten the wheels to regain control.
—Kansas City Star Weather Bot, Kansas City Star, 18 Oct. 2025
Relax the tail by straightening it out.
—Kathryn Gregory, Louisville Courier Journal, 14 Oct. 2025
Half Shoelace How to Do It: From a sitting position, bring your left heel behind you, closer toward your glutes, and straighten your right leg in front of you.
—Yoga With Kassandra, Outside, 11 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for straighten
Jailynn Tayor, Essence, 21 Oct. 2025
Make sure the tires reconnect with the road - During the skid, wait until the tires reconnect with the road and then gently straighten the wheels to regain control.
—Kansas City Star Weather Bot, Kansas City Star, 18 Oct. 2025
Relax the tail by straightening it out.
—Kathryn Gregory, Louisville Courier Journal, 14 Oct. 2025
Half Shoelace How to Do It: From a sitting position, bring your left heel behind you, closer toward your glutes, and straighten your right leg in front of you.
—Yoga With Kassandra, Outside, 11 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for straighten
Recent Examples of Synonyms for straighten
Verb
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After An Enemy of the People, Ibsen got fed up with a public that essentially equated him with that play’s hero, Dr. Stockmann, the unbending idealist who calls out community corruption and has his life torn apart for it.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
14 Sep. 2025
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The social hierarchy is unbending, but Flora knows she is destined for something greater, even though this puts her at odds with her superiors.—
Vogue,
Vogue,
29 July 2025
Verb
-
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 29 Oct. 2025.
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