unstring

To remove the string or strings from.

Unstring the bows before storing them.

When he looked at her neck he was reminded of how difficult it was to unstring a turkey.

To shake the nerves of; to cause anxiety or panic in.

[T]he monſter, rouſed by the noiſe, ſtarted forward, preſented ſuch a viſage of horror, and raiſed ſuch a hideous roar, that the hearts of the bold were contracted, and the nerves of the valiant unſtrung.

The sight of his scared face, his starts and pallors and sudden harkenings, unstrung me […]

To defuse or relax.

In the mean time, the same, or a similar end, may be attained, in the 2d PLACE, By splitting a duty on a commodity, so as to unstring the stimulus to smuggle, while we preserve the same, or perhaps require a greater amount, from the same subject than we had before.

Society can unstring the tension of sublimation only by lifting the barrier completely, that is, by abandoning the idea that illicit eros must not be gratified; society does not unstring the tension by silently countenancing individual gratifications.

To remove from a string; to release something that has been strung up or strung together.

"Poke a hole in the tops and bottoms of these eggs, blow out the yolks and whites, unstring the diamonds and stick them through the holes..."

Look at them for 10 seconds, and then unstring them and try to put the beads back in their right order.

To untie.

Invaded thus, for want of better bands, His garland they unstring, and bind his hands

He is now e'en trying to unstring the tie of virtue, in yon poor cottager's daughter!