unimprint

English

Etymology

un- +‎ imprint

Verb

unimprint (third-person singular simple present unimprints, present participle unimprinting, simple past and past participle unimprinted)

1. (transitive) To undo, in (a person or animal), the psychological process of imprinting.
   • 1979, George D. Goldman, Donald S. Milman, Modern Man, page 99:

     Even more importantly: the psychoanalytic method of showing him the origins of his “imprinting” would hardly help unimprint him; […]

   • 1991, Judith Rich Harris, Robert M. Liebert, The Child: A Contemporary View of Development, page 203:

     Once ducklings are imprinted on someone or something, it's virtually impossible to unimprint them. Another feature of imprinting is that it must take place soon after the duckling is hatched or it won't take place at all.

   • 1996, AnimaLife, volume 6, page 14:

     The MWRC animal care specialists attempted to unimprint the coyotes first by limiting their human contact and putting them with other wild coyotes. The hand-raised coyotes, however, were ostracized by the wild coyotes […]