What does unthink mean?
Unthink is a rare English verb meaning to withdraw, cancel, or dismiss a thought from consideration. In its clearest transitive use, a speaker says that an idea, assumption, or plan must be put out of mind, as in “I cannot unthink what he has told us.” The word can also describe ceasing to think about something, though this use is less definite. Because its sense is uncommon and deliberately contrasts with ordinary forms of think, it is most often encountered in formal, literary, philosophical, or deliberately unconventional writing. It is distinct from not think: the former implies undoing, abandoning, or taking no account of intellectual content, rather than simply failing to consider it. Though largely absent from everyday speech, unthink is useful in discussing the status of ideas and in stylistically marked prose, where it highlights the finality or reversibility of thought.
verbTo withdraw, cancel, or dismiss a thought, idea, or consideration from the mind; to stop thinking about or taking account of something.
- To withdraw, cancel, or dismiss a thought, idea, assumption, or consideration from the mind.
- To cease thinking about or taking account of something.
"Once she had conceived the possibility, she could not unthink it."
"Once she had conceived the possibility, she could not unthink it."
"The report tells us to unthink the old distinction and reconsider the evidence."
To unthink is to put an idea out of your mind; to be unthinkable is to regard it as impossible.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does unthink come from?
Unthink is an English formation built from the prefix un- and the Old English verb think, originally associated with conceiving, reasoning, or having thoughts. The prefix reverses or removes the action of the base verb, here suggesting that a thought is withdrawn, renounced, or no longer entertained. The compound has appeared in learned and philosophical writing but remains rare in modern English.
Related word forms
How unthink is actually used
Rare and chiefly literary, philosophical, or archaizing. It is normally transitive, though it can also occur without an object. The word is deliberately marked and much less common than its derivatives.
Easily confused with unthink
To unthink something is to withdraw it from consideration, whereas to describe something as unthinkable is to say that it is impossible or highly improbable to contemplate.