Definition of Loosen up

1. Verb. Cause to become unblocked. "The medicine unstuffed my nose in minutes!"

Exact synonyms: Unstuff
Generic synonyms: Disengage, Free
Specialized synonyms: Unblock
Antonyms: Stuff

2. Verb. Become less tense, less formal, or less restrained, and assume a friendlier manner. "Our new colleague relaxed when he saw that we were a friendly group"
Exact synonyms: Relax
Generic synonyms: Act, Behave, Do
Derivative terms: Relaxation

3. Verb. Make one's body limber or suppler by stretching, as if to prepare for strenuous physical activity.
Exact synonyms: Limber Up, Warm Up
Generic synonyms: Exercise, Work Out
Derivative terms: Warm-up

4. Verb. Become less tense, rest, or take one's ease. "Sam and Sue loosen up"; "Let's all relax after a hard day's work"
Exact synonyms: Decompress, Relax, Slow Down, Unbend, Unwind
Specialized synonyms: Vege Out, Vegetate, Sit Back, Take It Easy
Generic synonyms: Change State, Turn
Derivative terms: Relaxant, Relaxation, Relaxation
Antonyms: Tense

5. Verb. Cause to feel relaxed. "The performance is likely to loosen up Sue"; "A hot bath always relaxes me"
Exact synonyms: Make Relaxed, Relax, Unlax, Unstrain, Unwind
Generic synonyms: Affect
Specialized synonyms: Unbend
Causes: Decompress, Relax, Slow Down, Unbend, Unwind
Derivative terms: Relaxant, Relaxant, Relaxation, Relaxer
Antonyms: Tense, Strain

Definition of Loosen up

1. Verb. (intransitive) to become loose; to loosen ¹

2. Verb. (colloquial) to relax, act less seriously. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Lexicographical Neighbors of Loosen Up

loose skin
loose smut
loose trousers
loosebox
loosed
loosefill
loosehead
looseheads
looseleaf
loosely
loosely knit
loosen
loosen the apron strings
loosen the purse strings
loosen up (current term)
loosened
loosener
looseners
looseness
looseness of the bowels
loosenesses
loosening
loosens
looser
looses
loosest
loosestrife

Literary usage of Loosen up

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Sessional Papers by Ontario Legislative Assembly (1905)
"What is needed is to loosen up the roadway and screen out the dirt—then roll down the clean metal. gerously high in the centre, making it difficult for ..."

2. The Bar Sinister by Richard Harding Davis (1903)
"The night I fought Kelley's White Rat, I wouldn't loosen up until the Master made a noose in my leash and strangled me; and, ..."

3. From Harrison to Harding: A Personal Narrative, Covering a Third of a by Arthur Wallace Dunn (1922)
""It was my idea," he said, "that if I could get Clark to loosen up ... "What do you mean by 'loosen up?'" asked Senator Burrows of Michigan, ..."

4. Transactions of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers by American Institute of Electrical Engineers (1917)
"If the percentage of mica in the insulation is relatively high and the mica is put on so tightly that the binding material can disintegrate and loosen up ..."

5. The American State Reports: Containing the Cases of General Value and by Abraham Clark Freeman (1898)
"The defendant took the leg across his knee and tried to work it, and said if it did not loosen up he would put the plaintiff under the influence of ether ..."

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