Nearby Words

loosened

[loo-suhn] Origin

loos·en

[loo-suhn]
verb (used with object)
1.
to unfasten or undo, as a bond or fetter.
2.
to make less tight; slacken or relax: to loosen one's grasp.
3.
to make less firmly fixed in place: to loosen a tooth.
4.
to let loose or set free from bonds, restraint, or constraint.
5.
to make less close or compact in structure or arrangement.
EXPAND
6.
to make less dense or coherent: to loosen the soil in a garden.
7.
to relax in strictness or severity, as restraint or discipline: to loosen restrictions on trade.
8.
to relieve (the bowels) of their constipated condition.
COLLAPSE
verb (used without object)
9.
to become loose or looser (sometimes followed by up): His hold loosened. Your shoes will loosen up with wear.

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Loosened is always a great word to know.
So is quincunx. Does it mean:
a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.

Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English loosnen. See loose, -en1

loos·en·er, noun

loose, loosen, lose, loss.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

loosen
late 14c., from loose.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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