untrain

U1N1T1R1A1I1N1

verb

To reverse or undo one's training; to become less trained than before

Scrabble 7

Meanings

verbuntrain (third-person singular simple present untrains, present participle untraining, simple past and past participle untrained)

present singular third person untrains · participle present untraining · participle past untrained · past untrained

  1. To reverse or undo one's training; to become less trained than before

    The 11 girls […]are all trained dancers in real life who, for the purposes of "Billy Elliot," must untrain themselves for each performance and dance with two very left feet.

    2009 January 14, Patrick Healy, “Where Ballet Is a Boy Thing”, in New York Times

Origin

  1. Englishun-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*dʰregʰ-der.?
  3. Latintrahere
  4. Vulgar Latin*tragīnāre
  5. Old Frenchtraïner
  6. Old Frenchtrain
  7. Middle Englishtrayne
  8. Englishtrain
  9. Englishuntrain

From un- + train.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

untrain. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/untrain

MLA

“untrain.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/untrain. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “untrain,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/untrain.

Source: untrain on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.