relaxation

[ ree-lak-sey-shuhn ]
See synonyms for relaxation on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. abatement or relief from bodily or mental work, effort, application, etc.

  2. an activity or recreation that provides such relief; diversion; entertainment.

  1. a loosening or slackening.

  2. diminution or remission of strictness or severity.

  3. Mathematics. a numerical procedure for solving systems of equations by successive approximations of the variables.

  4. Physics.

    • the return of a system undergoing dissipation to an initial state of equilibrium after being displaced from it.

    • the approach to steady-state operation of a system that has undergone dissipation and a change in state or has been subjected to an abrupt periodic disturbance.

Origin of relaxation

1
1375–1425; late Middle English <Latin relaxātiōn- (stem of relaxātiō), equivalent to relaxāt(us) (past participle of relaxāre to relax; see -ate1) + -iōn--ion

Other words for relaxation

Other words from relaxation

  • non·re·lax·a·tion, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for relaxation

relaxation

/ (ˌriːlækˈseɪʃən) /


noun
  1. rest or refreshment, as after work or effort; recreation

  2. a form of rest or recreation: his relaxation is cricket

  1. a partial lessening of a punishment, duty, etc

  2. the act of relaxing or state of being relaxed

  3. physics the return of a system to equilibrium after a displacement from this state

  4. maths a method by which errors resulting from an approximation are reduced by using new approximations

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012