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loosen up

loos·en up
L l

Transcription

    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • UK Pronunciation
    • UK IPA
    • [loo-suh n uhp]
    • /ˈlu sən ʌp/
    • /ˈluː.sən ʌp/
    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • [loo-suh n uhp]
    • /ˈlu sən ʌp/

Definitions of loosen up words

  • verb with object loosen up to unfasten or undo, as a bond or fetter. 1
  • verb with object loosen up to make less tight; slacken or relax: to loosen one's grasp. 1
  • verb with object loosen up to make less firmly fixed in place: to loosen a tooth. 1
  • verb with object loosen up to let loose or set free from bonds, restraint, or constraint. 1
  • verb with object loosen up to make less close or compact in structure or arrangement. 1
  • verb with object loosen up to make less dense or coherent: to loosen the soil in a garden. 1

Information block about the term

Origin of loosen up

First appearance:

before 1350
One of the 20% oldest English words
First recorded in 1350-1400, loosen is from the Middle English word loosnen. See loose, -en1

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Loosen up

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation

loosen up popularity

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 95% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.
Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".

loosen up usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for loosen up

verb loosen up

  • brainwash — If you brainwash someone, you force them to believe something by continually telling them that it is true, and preventing them from thinking about it properly.
  • accustom — If you accustom yourself or another person to something, you make yourself or them become used to it.
  • educate — to develop the faculties and powers of (a person) by teaching, instruction, or schooling. Synonyms: instruct, school, drill, indoctrinate.
  • inure — to accustom to hardship, difficulty, pain, etc.; toughen or harden; habituate (usually followed by to): inured to cold.
  • train — Railroads. a self-propelled, connected group of rolling stock.

Antonyms for loosen up

verb loosen up

  • forget — to cease or fail to remember; be unable to recall: to forget someone's name.
  • neglect — to pay no attention or too little attention to; disregard or slight: The public neglected his genius for many years.
  • decrease — When something decreases or when you decrease it, it becomes less in quantity, size, or intensity.
  • destroy — To destroy something means to cause so much damage to it that it is completely ruined or does not exist any more.
  • ignore — to refrain from noticing or recognizing: to ignore insulting remarks.

See also

Matching words

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