Unleasher

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A person or thing that releases something previously restrained, such as a force, emotion or hostile energy
2. Someone or something that lets loose a feeling, power or action that had been held back or kept in check
3. The agent that sets free or launches something long suppressed, whether a person, event or mechanism

Etymology: "Unleasher" is a plain formation: the verb "unleash" with the agent suffix "-er" attached, giving the sense of one who unleashes something. "Unleash" itself is built from "un-", a prefix meaning "reverse" or "undo," and "leash," the cord or strap used to restrain a dog or other animal. To unleash is therefore to take the leash off, releasing something that was held back, and the agent noun names whoever or whatever does that release. The word is useful mainly because it sits neatly beside its parent verb. Where "unleash" describes the act, "unleasher" names the person or force responsible for it, so a phrase like "the unleasher of the storm" carries the same literal picture of slipping a restraint, extended from a hound to a force of nature or a rival's temper.

Synonyms: releaser

Antonyms: restrainer, curber