Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- intransitive verb To make lax or loose.
- intransitive verb To make less severe or strict.
- intransitive verb To reduce in intensity; slacken.
- intransitive verb To relieve from tension or strain.
- intransitive verb To take one's ease; rest.
- intransitive verb To become lax or loose.
- intransitive verb To become less severe or strict.
- intransitive verb To become less restrained or tense.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Relaxed; loose.
- noun Relaxation.
- To slacken; make more lax or less tense or rigid; loosen; make less close or firm: as, to
relax a rope or cord; to relax the muscles or sinews. - To make less severe or rigorous; remit or abate in strictness: as, to
relax a law or rule. - To remit or abate in respect to attention, assiduity, effort, or labor: as, to
relax study; to relax exertions or efforts. - To relieve from attention or effort; afford a relaxation to; unbend: as, conversation relaxes the mind of the student.
- To abate; take away.
- To relieve from constipation; loosen; open: as, medicines relax the bowels.
- To set loose or free; give up or over.
- Synonyms To loose, unbrace, weaken, enervate, debilitate.
- To mitigate, ease.
- To divert, recreate.
- To become loose, feeble, or languid.
- To abate in severity; become more mild or less rigorous.
- To remit in close attention; unbend.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- intransitive verb To become lax, weak, or loose.
- intransitive verb To abate in severity; to become less rigorous.
- intransitive verb To remit attention or effort; to become less diligent; to unbend.
- adjective Relaxed; lax; hence, remiss; careless.
- noun obsolete Relaxation.
- transitive verb To make lax or loose; to make less close, firm, rigid, tense, or the like; to slacken; to loosen; to open
- transitive verb To make less severe or rigorous; to abate the stringency of; to remit in respect to strenuousness, earnestness, or effort
- transitive verb Hence, to relieve from attention or effort; to ease; to recreate; to divert.
- transitive verb To relieve from constipation; to loosen; to open.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb transitive To
calm down . - verb transitive To make something
loose . - verb intransitive To become
loose . - verb transitive To make something less
severe ortense . - verb intransitive To become less
severe ortense . - verb transitive To make something (such as codes and regulations) more
lenient . - verb intransitive To become more
lenient . - verb transitive To
relieve (something) fromstress .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb make less taut
- verb become less tense, rest, or take one's ease
- verb cause to feel relaxed
- verb make less active or fast
- verb make less severe or strict
- verb become less tense, less formal, or less restrained, and assume a friendlier manner
- verb become less severe or strict
- verb become loose or looser or less tight
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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The word 'simplify,' the word 'sanctuary,' the word 'relax.'
chron.com Chronicle 2011
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Properly armed, we head for our hotel to read and relax from the long trip.
Archive 2009-01-01 Laurie Constantino 2009
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Perhaps while you were splashing in the surf to relax from the rigors of your campaign, you missed the fact that the people already know about the trillions of dollars black hole caused by the bush crowd and the the spineless Congress.
Obama Warns of ‘Trillion-Dollar Deficits’ - The Caucus Blog - NYTimes.com 2009
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For now, Miller's intentions are to keep it in relax mode.
Bode Miller in no rush to make decision about ski career 2010
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Writing to relax is always the best way to go: let the fingers lead the heart to work.
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Properly armed, we head for our hotel to read and relax from the long trip.
Recipe for Leek Mousaka (Μουσακάς με Πράσα) Laurie Constantino 2009
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And he settles into you, letting his little body relax from the arch and flex of discomfort and fear and settle, softly, into the curves of your belly and breast and lay there, eyes fluttering, cries turning to gurgles and squawks, and he rests.
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He needs to make huge plans for his general election campaign: what states to vist, fund-raise, organize volunteers, and most of all he needs at least some time to relax from a long race that just ended.
McCain Doubts Forums’ Chances - The Caucus Blog - NYTimes.com 2008
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This treatment is available at Dr Fish Spa, where customers with dry skin relax in a pool filled with warm water as little Garra Rufa fish numbering in the thousands feed on the dead skin.
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If you like, you can count each breath, or even repeat the word relax or centered as you breathe out.
oroboros commented on the word relax
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