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 or tense.
  • verb intransitive To become less severe or tense.
  • verb transitive To make something (such as codes and regulations) more lenient.
  • verb intransitive To become more lenient.
  • verb transitive To relieve (something) from stress.

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

[Middle English relaxen, from Old French relaxer, from Latin relaxāre : re-, re- + laxāre, to loosen (from laxus, loose; see slēg- in Indo-European roots).]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Old French relaxer, from Latin relaxāre ("relax, loosen, open"), from re- ("back") + laxāre ("loosen"), from laxus ("loose, free").

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