UNDO • E-FREE TRANSLATION.COM • Definition of Undo

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/əndˈu/ Listen

verb

Undo v. t. (past undid; past part. undone; pres. part. undoing)

To reverse, as what has been done; to annul; to bring to naught. "What's done can not be undone." "To-morrow, ere the setting sun, She 'd all undo that she had done."

To loose; to open; to take to piece; to unfasten; to untie; hence, to unravel; to solve; as, to undo a knot; to undo a puzzling question; to undo a riddle. "Pray you, undo this button." "She took the spindle, and undoing the thread gradually, measured it."

To bring to poverty; to impoverish; to ruin, as in reputation, morals, hopes, or the like; as, many are undone by unavoidable losses, but more undo themselves by vices and dissipation, or by indolence. "That quaffing and drinking will undo you,"

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Etymology of 'Undo'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Undo" Quotes from Famous Books

... above, an age of pleasure, and as the wise man said long ago, 'He that loves pleasure shall be a poor man'—so it is now; it is an age of drunkenness and extravagance, and thousands ruin themselves by that; it is an age of luxurious and expensive living, and thousands more undo themselves by that; but, among all our vices, nothing ruins a tradesman so effectually as the neglect of his business: it is true, all those things prompt men to neglect their business, but the more seasonable is the advice; either enter ...

— The Complete English Tradesman (1839 ed.) • Daniel Defoe

... beloved voice that was to you Both sound and sweetness, faileth suddenly, And silence against which you dare not cry Aches round you like a strong disease and new— What hope? what help? what music will undo That silence ...

— A Young Mutineer • Mrs. L. T. Meade

... victorious in the general election of 1880, took office in April of that year, the officials in South Africa, whose guidance they sought, made light of Boer discontent, and declared that it would be impossible now to undo what had been done in 1877. Thus misled, the new Cabinet refused to reverse the annexation, saying by the mouth of the Under Secretary for the Colonies, "Fieri non debuit, factum valet." This decision of the British government, ...

— Impressions of South Africa • James Bryce

... will see him before I shall, because you have a view along the whole length of the 'right' gallery, while I can only command a view of the 'off-turning' gallery. All you need do to let me know is to undo the cord holding the curtain of the 'right' gallery window, nearest to the dark closet. The curtain will fall of itself and immediately leave a square of shadow where previously there had been a square of light. To do this, ...

— The Mystery of the Yellow Room • Gaston Leroux

... the younger ones can reach to undo the doors," said Elizabeth. "It was as much as I could do to reach the upper bolt, though I stood upon ...

— The Stokesley Secret • Charlotte M. Yonge

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