Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- In a loose manner; not firmly or tightly: as, loosely corded or strapped.
- Hence Freely; negligently; carelessly; without precision: as, to speak loosely; a loosely conducted enterprise.
- Immorally; wantonly; dissolutely.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adverb In a loose manner.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adverb In a
loose manner. - adverb Not
tightly . - adverb
Approximately . - adverb Used to indicate an imprecise use of words; short for loosely speaking
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adverb without regard to specific details or exceptions
- adverb knitted in a loose manner
- adverb in a relaxed manner; not rigid
- adverb in a loose manner
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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The term loosely covers such a wide range of mental states that it even includes opposite ways of being.
The Bushman Way of Tracking God PhD Bradford Keeney 2010
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I kept running, using the term loosely now, and began licking my arm.
Runners Jack Canfield 2010
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I kept running, using the term loosely now, and began licking my arm.
Runners Jack Canfield 2010
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Evidently, I am the only male in this German anthology, whose title loosely translates as "Coffee with milk for heart and soul", and which also has work from Marian Keyes, among others.
Breakfast in Bed desayunoencama 2005
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JTWallace: I cannot fathom why ANYONE would pose naked or allow It's always interesting to see what happens to a person when their 15 minutes of fame and I do use the term loosely is over.
The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com The Huffington Post News Editors 2011
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Western parents - I use the term loosely, which is handy for any generalization
Forbes.com: News Quentin Hardy 2011
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The term "loosely coupled" came into vogue with service-oriented architecture a few years ago, meaning an entity or system stands fine on its own, but when linked to other like systems, the magic happens.
Forbes.com: News Joe McKendrick 2011
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The publication, whose Arabic name loosely translates as "Concerning," was launched as a quarterly magazine in early 2008 by members of the Lebanese lesbian group Meem and was billed as the Arab world's first publication for lesbian and bisexual women.
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But for the last several winters some gentleman, and I obviously use the term loosely, has dumped deer carcasses in a turnaround on the property created by the town highway department, and which had turned into a de facto garbage dump.
Where Earth Day Hits Home Ralph Gardner Jr. 2011
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I once went to an art museum (I used the term loosely) where there was an exhibit (again, I use the term loosely) that consisted of Things The Lady Artist Once Used to Go Camping in the Woods.
Brilliant, Google Art Project! The only bad thing about museums is museums! Alexandra Petri 2011
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