When Alexis de Tocqueville, the French political philosopher and statesman, visited America and published his 1835–1840 classic Democracy in America, he was surprised by the adaptive, intentional looseness of the laws written during the first century of the United States.
—
Jeffrey Sonnenfeld,
Fortune,
6 Apr. 2026
At least the looseness of discomfort was made tangible now, defined by both taste and texture.
Trump’s steamrolling of anything, including the Constitution, that might impede his authoritarian project has made the limpness of the Democratic opposition more conspicuous.
Meanwhile, for an at-home radio frequency device, Currentbody’s tool helps improve skin laxity by heating the skin to 104 degrees Fahrenheit—the ideal temperature for collagen production, according to experts.
—
Conçetta Ciarlo,
Vogue,
19 Mar. 2026
Brilliant, for improving texture and tone; radiofrequency microneedling devices, like Morpheus8, for laxity and crepiness; and, again, biostimulatory injectables such as Sculptra for volume loss.
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.