uncurl
part of speech
verb (uncurl, uncurls, uncurled, uncurling)
meaning for a pupil
1) To uncurl means to open out or straighten from a curled shape: a hedgehog uncurls when it feels safe. tree →
2) To uncurl something means to straighten it out, like uncurling your fingers or a rolled-up poster. tree →
sense in the lessons
In science and nature lessons, animals uncurl (hedgehogs, woodlice, caterpillars) and plants uncurl (fern leaves in spring). In stories, a cat uncurls from sleep and stretches. Phrases: «uncurl slowly», «uncurl your fingers», «uncurl from a ball».
examples
- The hedgehog uncurled when the dog went away. tree →
- Fern leaves uncurl in spring like little green springs. tree →
- The cat uncurled and stretched in the sunshine. tree →
- Slowly uncurl your fingers to show what you are holding. tree →
- We uncurled the old map and pinned it on the wall. tree →
- A woodlouse rolls into a ball and uncurls when it feels safe. tree →
- And then the dragon uncurled himself from around the North Pole, and stretched his long, icy length over the snow, and said: "This is something like! tree →
note
Regular verb: uncurled, uncurling. Can be used with or without an object: «the cat uncurled» / «she uncurled the poster». Opposite: curl up. «Un-» here means to reverse an action, like in «untie», «undo».
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «uncurl» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.