loosen
/'lu:sn/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Verb (transitive):
- To make something less tight, firm, or fixed; to make something less constricted or tense.
- To make something less dense, compact, or closely packed.
- To make something less strict, severe, or rigid.
Verb (intransitive):
- To become less tight, firm, or fixed.
- To become less strict, severe, or rigid.
Examples of Usage
Verb (transitive):
- He had to loosen his belt after the big meal.
- The gardener used a tool to loosen the hard soil before planting.
- The new manager decided to loosen the company's dress code.
Verb (intransitive):
- Over time, the old knot began to loosen.
- The strict regulations finally loosened after public pressure.
Advanced Usage
- "to loosen one's grip/hold": to reduce control or influence over something or someone.
- The dictator refused to loosen his grip on power.
- "to loosen up": (intransitive) to become more relaxed, flexible, or less tense.
- You should loosen up a bit and enjoy the party.
- (transitive) to make muscles or joints more relaxed and flexible through exercise.
- The athletes stretched to loosen up their muscles before the race.
Variants and Related Words
- Loose (adj): Not firmly or tightly fixed in place; not tight or constricted.
- A loose tooth.
- Loosening (n): The action of making something less tight or strict.
- The loosening of restrictions was welcomed.
Synonyms
- Relax: To make or become less tense or rigid.
- Slacken: To reduce in tension, speed, or intensity.
- Untie: To undo a knot or fastening.
- Ease: To make something less severe or demanding.
Related Phrasal Verbs
- Loosen up: (as detailed in Advanced Usage).
- Loosen off: To remove something by making it loose (less common).
- He loosened off the lid of the jar.
Related Idioms
- Loosen someone's tongue: To make someone talk more freely, often by making them feel relaxed or by giving them alcohol.
- A glass of wine helped to loosen her tongue and she told us the whole story.
- Loosen the purse strings: To start spending money more freely.
- The university finally loosened the purse strings to fund the new library.
Verb
- become loose or looser or less tight
- The noose loosened
- the rope relaxed
- make less dense
- loosen the soil
- cause to become loose
- undo the shoelace
- untie the knot
- loosen the necktie
- disentangle and raise the fibers of
- tease wool
- become less severe or strict
- The rules relaxed after the new director arrived
- make less severe or strict
- The government relaxed the curfew after most of the rebels were caught
- make loose or looser
- loosen the tension on a rope