relax

verb
/ɹɪˈlæks/

Etymology

From Middle English relaxen, from Old French relaxer, from Latin relaxāre (“relax, loosen, open”), from re- (“back”) + laxāre (“loosen”), from laxus (“loose, free”). By surface analysis, re- + lax (“open, free, loose”).

  1. derived from relaxāre — “relax, loosen, open
  2. derived from relaxer
  3. inherited from relaxen

Definitions

  1. To make something loose.

    • to relax a rope or cord
    • to relax the muscles or sinews
    • Horror […] all his joynts relax'd.
  2. To become loose.

  3. To relieve (someone or someone's mind) of stress

    To relieve (someone or someone's mind) of stress; to enable to rest; to calm down.

    • Amusement relaxes the mind.
  4. + 5 more definitions
    1. To rest and become relieved of stress.

      • I like to relax by listening to music.
      • I relax in the living room.
    2. To make something less severe or tense.

      • to relax discipline
      • to relax one's attention or endeavours
    3. To become less severe or tense.

      • Tensions between the two countries have relaxed somewhat in recent weeks.
    4. To make something (such as codes and regulations) more lenient.

      • The statute of mortmain[…] was at several times relaxed by the legislature.
    5. To become more lenient.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at relax. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

01relax02loose03loosen04disengage05binds06bind07friction08massage

A definitional loop anchored at relax. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

8 hops · closes at relax

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA