loosen

English

Etymology

From loose +‎ -en.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈluːsn̩/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Verb

loosen (third-person singular simple present loosens, present participle loosening, simple past and past participle loosened)

1. (transitive) To make loose.

   to loosen a knot

   After the Thanksgiving meal, Bill loosened his belt.

   • Francis Bacon

     After a year's rooting, then shaking doth the tree good by loosening of the earth.

2. (intransitive) To become loose.

   I noticed that my seatbelt had gradually loosened during the journey.

3. (transitive) To free from restraint; to set at liberty.
   • Dryden

     It loosens his hands, and assists his understanding.

4. (transitive) To remove costiveness from; to facilitate or increase the alvine discharges of.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Francis Bacon to this entry?)

Antonyms

• tighten

Derived terms

• loosen the apron strings
• loosen the purse strings
• loosener

Related terms

• loose
• unloosen

Translations

to make less tight

• Aromanian: distringu, disfac
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 鬆開 (zh), 松开 (zh) (sōngkāi)

• Czech: uvolnit (cs) pf
• Danish: løsne
• Dutch: losmaken (nl)
• Finnish: löysätä (fi), höllätä (fi), löyhentää
• French: desserrer (fr)
• Gallurese: allintà, allinà
• German: lösen (de), lockern (de)
• Greek: χαλαρώνω (el) (chalaróno)

  Ancient Greek: λύω (lúō)

• Ido: laxigar (io)
• Irish: scaoil

• Italian: allentare (it)
• Japanese: ゆるめる (ja) (yurumeru), ほどく (ja) (hodoku)
• Latin: labefacio
• Maori: whakatangatanga, whakakorokoro, ^{(please verify)} whakakaewa, ^{(please verify)} whakahorohoro, ^{(please verify)} whakangoru
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: løsne (no), løse (no)

  Nynorsk: løyse

• Portuguese: afrouxar (pt)
• Romanian: desface (ro)
• Russian: ослабля́ть (ru) impf (oslabljátʹ), осла́бить (ru) pf (oslábitʹ)
• Sardinian:

  Campidanese: ammollai

  Logudorese: allenare

• Spanish: aflojar (es), soltar (es)

to free from restraint; to set at liberty

• Finnish: vapauttaa (fi), irrottaa (fi)
• Greek:

  Ancient Greek: λύω (lúō)

to remove costiveness

• Finnish: helpottaa (fi)

See also

• lose

Anagrams

• no-lose