undo
verb · noun
Simple meaning
To reverse or cancel something that was done, or to unfasten it.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
uhndooSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ənˈdu
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
Cancel, annul, or reverse an action or its effect
“I wish I could undo my actions.”
transitivecolloquial
To unfasten the clothing of (a person).
figuratively
To impoverish or ruin, as in reputation; to cause the downfall of.
noun
computing
An operation that reverses a previous action.
Understand the Word
How this word is built, and what each part adds.
To undo something is to cancel or reverse an action that has already been done.
- un-
- reverses the action
- do
- perform an action
Prefix function , Reverses an action
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Cancel, annul, or reverse an action or its effect
Used this way, undo is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“I wish I could undo my actions.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use undo
- “I wish I could undo my actions.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
An act that makes a previous act of no effect (as if not done).
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Words can change meaning depending on context.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.