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lax
2 dictionary results for: Laxest
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
  1. Lacking in rigor, strictness, or firmness. See Synonyms at negligent.
  2. Not taut, firm, or compact; slack. See Synonyms at loose.
  3. Loose and not easily retained or controlled. Used of bowel movements.
  4. 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
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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