unfriend

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

US /ʌnˈfrɛnd/ UK /ʌnˈfrɛnd/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

verb
to remove someone from one's list of contacts on a social network

She unfriended him after the bitter argument online.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to remove someone from... defriendunfollowblock

Opposites

friend befriend add

Word family

Derived forms unfriendingunfriended

Related forms friend befriend friendly

Etymology

From un- ('reverse the action') + friend (verb, 'to add as a friend'). Though revived as social-media slang in the 2000s, unfriend as a verb is attested as early as the 17th century; friend derives from Old English frēond ('friend').

un- Old English frēond Old English *frijōndz Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# unfriend

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /ʌnˈfrɛnd/
**IPA (UK):** /ʌnˈfrɛnd/

## Meanings
1. to remove someone from one's list of contacts on a social network

## Examples
- She unfriended him after the bitter argument online.

## Synonyms
- defriend
- unfollow
- block

## Antonyms
- friend
- befriend
- add

## Derived Forms
- unfriending
- unfriended

## Related Forms
- friend
- befriend
- friendly

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: un-
- Root: frēond
- Root: *frijōndz

## Etymology
From un- ('reverse the action') + friend (verb, 'to add as a friend'). Though revived as social-media slang in the 2000s, unfriend as a verb is attested as early as the 17th century; friend derives from Old English frēond ('friend').

## AI Etymology
Unfriend is from un- ('reverse the action') + friend (verb, 'to add as a friend'). Though revived as social-media slang in the 2000s, unfriend as a verb is attested as early as the 17th century; friend derives from Old English frēond ('friend'). Important recorded forms include un- (Old English), frēond (Old English), and *frijōndz (Proto-Germanic). Morphologically, the un- element marks negation, reversal, removal, or deprivation, while the base supplies the action, quality, or state being denied or undone. The modern sense is largely compositional, with the historical elements narrowing into a stable English lexical item. In current use it covers to remove someone from one's list of contacts on a social network. The wider family includes derived forms such as unfriending and unfriended and related words such as friend, befriend, and friendly.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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