Lax definition |Dictionary.com

lax

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8 dictionary results for: Lax

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

lax

[laks] Pronunciation Key

–adjective, -er, -est.

1.	not strict or severe; careless or negligent: lax morals; a lax attitude toward discipline.

2.	loose or slack; not tense, rigid, or firm: a lax rope; a lax handshake.

3.	not rigidly exact or precise; vague: lax ideas.

4.	open, loose, or not retentive, as diarrheal bowels.

5.	(of a person) having the bowels unusually loose or open.

6.	open or not compact; having a loosely cohering structure; porous: lax tissue; lax texture.

7.	Phonetics. (of a vowel) articulated with relatively relaxed tongue muscles. Compare tense¹ (def. 4).

[Origin: 1350–1400; ME < L laxus loose, slack, wide; akin to languére to languish; c. OE slæc slack¹

]

—Related forms

laxly, adverb

laxness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

lax (lāks) Pronunciation Key
adj. lax·er, lax·est

Lacking in rigor, strictness, or firmness. See Synonyms at negligent.
Not taut, firm, or compact; slack. See Synonyms at loose.
Loose and not easily retained or controlled. Used of bowel movements.
Linguistics Pronounced with the muscles of the tongue and jaw relatively relaxed, as the vowel (ě) in let.

[Middle English, from Latin laxus, loose, lax; see slēg- in Indo-European roots.]

lax·a'tion n., lax'ly adv., lax'ness n.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
lax (adj.)

c.1400, "loose" (in ref. to bowels), from L. laxus "wide, loose, open," from PIE base *sleg- "to be slack, be languid" (cf. Gk. legein "to leave off, stop," lagos "hare," lit. "with drooping ears," lagnos "lustful, lascivious," lagaros "slack, hollow, shrunken;" L. languere "to be faint, weary," languidis "faint, weak, dull, sluggish, languid"). Of rules, discipline, etc., attested from c.1450.

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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

lax
adjective
1.	lacking in rigor or strictness; "such lax and slipshod ways are no longer acceptable"; "lax in attending classes"; "slack in maintaining discipline"
2.	pronounced with muscles of the tongue and jaw relatively relaxed (e.g., the vowel sound in 'bet') [ant: tense]
3.	lacking in strength or firmness or resilience; "a lax rope"; "a limp handshake" [ant: tense]
4.	emptying easily or excessively; "loose bowels"