unhappen
Make never was
To unhappen is to undo or reverse an event that has already occurred—to make it as if something never happened.
The word appears almost exclusively in contexts of impossibility or wishful thinking: You can't unhappen what you said.
If I could unhappen that night, I would.
It captures the futile desire to erase the past.
Reverse a prior action
- unmakeReverse the act of creating
- eraseRemove recorded marks
- deleteRemove or erase
- expungeDelete entirely, officially
obliterate · efface · wipe · nullify · void · annul · negate · cancel
Retract a statement
- unspeakRevoke what was uttered
- undoneNot fastened or completed
- rewriteRevise text substantially
- do-overAnother chance given
mulligan · second-chance · reset · erasure · denial · repression · amnesia · forget
Based on conjecture
- hypotheticalAssumed but unproven
- conjecturalBased on incomplete evidence
- theoreticalBased on hypothesis, untested
- philosophicalConcerned with fundamental truths
abstract · metaphysical · notional · conceptual · imaginary · counterfactual · what-if · paradox
Capable of being reversed
- irreversibleCannot be undone
- unachievableCannot be accomplished
- unrealizableImpossible to achieve
- impossibleIncapable of occurring
inconceivable · unthinkable · futile · hopeless · illusory · quixotic · unattainable · impracticable
undo
Reverse a prior action
expunge · obliterate · efface · wipe · nullify · void · annul · negate · cancel · abolish
unsay
Retract a statement
do-over · mulligan · second-chance · reset · erasure · denial · repression · amnesia · forget · disavow
speculative
Based on conjecture
- hypotheticalAssumed but unproven
- conjecturalBased on incomplete evidence
- theoreticalBased on hypothesis, untested
philosophical · abstract · metaphysical · notional · conceptual · imaginary · counterfactual · what-if · paradox · time-travel
undoable
Capable of being reversed
- irreversibleCannot be undone
- unachievableCannot be accomplished
- unrealizableImpossible to achieve
impossible · inconceivable · unthinkable · futile · hopeless · illusory · quixotic · unattainable · impracticable · inexorable
unhappenhappen
Come into being
occur · take place · come to pass · transpire · unfold
unhappenhappen
Come into being
cause · bring about · make happen · create · precipitate
happen, happening, happens, happened, happenings, misshapen, happenstance, happenchance