loosen up

loosen up

verb

Definition of LOOSEN UP

intransitive verb

: to become less tense : relax

Examples of LOOSEN UP

1. <asked the school administrators to loosen up the rules on what can be printed on T-shirts>
2. <a high-pressure job that makes it hard for him to loosen up even on weekends>

First Known Use of LOOSEN UP

1922

Related to LOOSEN UP

Synonyms: chill, chill out [slang], decompress, de-stress, relax, mellow (out), unwind, wind down

Antonyms: tense (up)

Related Words: unbend; bask, kick back, loll, lounge, repose, rest; bum, dally, dawdle, dillydally, drone, footle, goof (off), hack (around), hang (around or out), idle, laze, loaf, vegetate, veg out, zone out; alleviate, comfort, ease, relieve; calm, compose, cool, quiet, settle

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Rhymes with LOOSEN UP

belly-up, belly up, bottom-up, buckle up, bundle up, buttercup, butter up, buttoned-up, cover-up, cozy up, double up, dummy up, fancy up, follow-up, gussy up, higher-up, lighten up, live it up, loving cup, measure up, mix it up, open up, pick-me-up, pony up, power up, runner-up, seven-up, shoot-'em-up, stirrup cup, suck it up, suction cup, summing-up, up-and-up, wickiup, winding-up