Lexic.us

Definition of Loosen

1. Verb. Make loose or looser. "Loosen the tension on a rope"

2. Verb. Make less severe or strict. "The government relaxed the curfew after most of the rebels were caught"

3. Verb. Become less severe or strict. "The rules relaxed after the new director arrived"

4. Verb. Disentangle and raise the fibers of. "Tease wool"

5. Verb. Cause to become loose. "Loosen the necktie"

6. Verb. Make less dense. "Loosen the soil"

7. Verb. Become loose or looser or less tight. "The rope relaxed"

Definition of Loosen

1. v. t. To make loose; to free from tightness, tension, firmness, or fixedness; to make less dense or compact; as, to loosen a string, or a knot; to loosen a rock in the earth.

2. v. i. To become loose; to become less tight, firm, or compact.

Definition of Loosen

1. Verb. make something less tight; unfasten ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Loosen

1. to make looser [v -ED, -ING, -S] - See also: looser

Medical Definition of Loosen

1. 1. To make loose; to free from tightness, tension, firmness, or fixedness; to make less dense or compact; as, to loosen a string, or a knot; to loosen a rock in the earth. "After a year's rooting, then shaking doth the tree good by loosening of the earth." (Bacon) 2. To free from restraint; to set at liberty. "It loosens his hands, and assists his understanding." (Dryden) 3. To remove costiveness from; to facilitate or increase the alvine discharges of. Origin: See Loose. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Loosen

loose off loose scrum loose sentence loose skin loose smut loose trousers loosebox loosed loosefill loosehead

looseheads looseleaf loosely loosely knit loosen (current term) loosen the apron strings loosen the purse strings loosen up loosened loosener

looseners looseness looseness of the bowels loosenesses loosening loosens looser

Literary usage of Loosen

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. The Iliad of Homer by Homer, John Graham Cordery (1871)
"THE throng was loosen'd, and the nations went Each to their separate ships, and turn'd their thoughts To joyance of repast or sweet repose ; Only Achilles, ..."

2. The woman in white by Wilkie Collins (1871)
"It was hard, when I had fastened my hold on him, at last, to loosen it again of my own accord—but I forced myself to make the sacrifice. ..."

3. The Poetical Works of John Dryden by John Dryden (1909)
"... That keep the loosen'd body sound, Or than the lamb, that falls by lot The jolly shepherd smiles to see His flock returning from the plains; ..."

4. Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms by Frederic Sturges Allen (1920)
"Antonyms: see FAMILIAR, COMMON. unfasten, vt loose, unloose, loosen, unloosen (rare); spec, unscrew, unbind, unhitch, ..."

5. The Rebellion Record: A Diary of American Events by Frank Moore, Edward Everett (1867)
"... with a thin plating over it, the mechanical difficulty of securing this is such that it will loosen and fly off under the concussion of your heavy fire, ..."

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