unknitting

He roused a feeling in her that she feared -- a feeling intoxicating to the senses, dazzling to the mind, unknitting to the will.

The Coast of Chance Esther Chamberlain

This was the last word of the tale, when sweet sleep came speedily upon him, sleep that loosens the limbs of men, unknitting the cares of his soul.

Book XXIII Homer 1909

He was pacing to and fro, with rapid, nervous steps, crushing the dry twigs under his shoes, pressing his hands together behind his back, knitting and unknitting his fingers.

A Friend of Caesar A Tale of the Fall of the Roman Republic. Time, 50-47 B.C. William Stearns Davis 1903

This was the last word of the tale, when sweet sleep came speedily upon him, sleep that loosens the limbs of men, unknitting the cares of his soul.

The Odyssey 750? BC-650? BC Homer 1878

The liberty that goes by unknitting the bands of reverence and dissolving the ties that draw and hold men together in the charities of a common life, is not the liberty for me, nor is it the liberty that Shakespeare teaches.

Shakespeare His Life Art And Characters Hudson, H N 1872

With the insight and tenderness of a mother he restrained himself, and unknitting his brows, held out both his hands and said very kindly,

A Flat Iron for a Farthing or Some Passages in the Life of an only Son Juliana Horatia Gatty Ewing 1863

In the morning, when they talked of his prospects, they foresaw no unknitting of the bond of their friendship: in that vague future of which they had spoken, they saw themselves together: not always, not more than they had been lately; but together from time to time.

Stuart of Dunleath: A Story of Modern Times 1851

The liberty that goes by unknitting the bands of reverence and dissolving the ties that draw and hold men together in the charities of a common life, is not the liberty for me, nor is it the liberty that Shakespeare teaches.

Shakespeare: His Life, Art, And Characters, Volume I. With An Historical Sketch Of The Origin And Growth Of The Drama In England Henry Norman Hudson 1850

When she had finished he rose and walked to the extremity of the small space at command, then walked back to the piano, where Mirah had risen from her seat and stood looking toward him with her little hands crossed before her, meekly awaiting judgment; then with a sudden unknitting of his brow and with beaming eyes, he stretched out his hand and said abruptly, "Let us shake hands: you are a musician."

Daniel Deronda George Eliot 1849