unbandage

IPA/ʌnˈbæn.dɪdʒ/
IPA/ʌnˈbæn.dɪdʒ/

unbandage — verb

  • unbandagepresent simple I / you / we / they
  • unbandages3rd person singular
  • unbandaging-ing form
  • unbandagedpast simple

1. to take off the cloth covering that is wrapped around a wound or an injured part

1.verbtransitiveB2
Definition

to take off the cloth covering that is wrapped around a wound or an injured part of the body

Example

The nurse unbandaged Darius's ankle and checked for signs of infection.

unbandage + body part, followed by 'and' + second action

After three days, Lisa was able to unbandage her knee without feeling any pain.

be able to unbandage + [body part]

Common collocations
  • unbandage a wound
  • unbandage an arm/a leg/a hand
  • unbandage gently / carefully / slowly
  • unbandage before examining / before applying medicine
Synonyms
  • unwrap

    more general — can apply to gifts, packages, etc.; unbandage is specific to medical bandages

  • remove a bandage

    explanatory multi-word equivalent; less concise than unbandage

  • take off the dressing

    synonymous but uses 'dressing' instead of 'bandage', common in clinical settings

Antonyms
  • bandage

    the opposite action of putting on or wrapping with a bandage

Grammar Patterns

unbandage + noun phrase (body part / wound)

Usage Note

The direct object is typically a body part (arm, leg, hand) or a wound; the person performing the action is usually a medical professional or a caregiver.

Common Mistakes

I unbandaged the bandage.
I unbandaged the wound on my arm.
the object is the body part or injury, not the bandage itself.
She unbandaged her finger and put a new bandage on it.
She removed the old bandage from her finger and put a new one on.
unbandage only means taking off the existing bandage, not replacing it.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

Unbandage is the most specific term in this group — it refers exclusively to removing a medical bandage from an injured body part. Unwrap is far more general (you can unwrap a gift, a sandwich, or a bandage) and lacks the medical context. Remove a bandage and take off the dressing are explanatory phrases rather than single verbs; they work in any register but are wordier. Undress a wound is a clinical expression used mainly by medical professionals to mean removing all coverings (not just bandages) to expose an injury. In everyday speech, "unbandage" is the most concise choice when the context is clearly a wound or injury.

unwrap ↗remove a bandagetake off the dressingundress a wound

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • unbandage before reapplying medicine
  • unbandage to check for healing

Prepositions

Etymology

Old EnglishFrenchEnglish

Unbandage is formed by adding the reversive prefix un- (from Old English) to the noun bandage, which entered English in the late 16th century via French bande ('strip, band') and Italian benda. The verb form first appeared in medical writing around 1835.

First known use

1835

1835, in the meaning defined above