1
as in loose
not bound, confined, or detained by force
after having been chained for so long, the suddenly footloose dog ran helter-skelter about the yard
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in freewheeling
not held back by rules, duties, or worries
wished I could be as carefree as that footloose toddler
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of footloose
Of all the world’s footloose international students, 15 percent come to the United States, the largest share of any country in the world.
—
David G. Victor, Foreign Affairs, 28 May 2025
Defiant and determined to get back home on his own to his mother and grandfather Gerald (Paul Weller) in East London, George encounters real danger as a distraught Rita tries to find her footloose son.
—Georg Szalai, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Oct. 2024
The footloose couple performed on the opening night of the Symphony of Dance tour in Melbourne, Fl.
—Lester Fabian Brathwaite, EW.com, 17 Apr. 2024
Huppert plays a footloose and intense French woman at large in Korea and vaguely making ends meet as an untrained language tutor with eccentric methods.
—Patrick Frater, Variety, 19 Feb. 2024
See All Example Sentences for footloose
David G. Victor, Foreign Affairs, 28 May 2025
Defiant and determined to get back home on his own to his mother and grandfather Gerald (Paul Weller) in East London, George encounters real danger as a distraught Rita tries to find her footloose son.
—Georg Szalai, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Oct. 2024
The footloose couple performed on the opening night of the Symphony of Dance tour in Melbourne, Fl.
—Lester Fabian Brathwaite, EW.com, 17 Apr. 2024
Huppert plays a footloose and intense French woman at large in Korea and vaguely making ends meet as an untrained language tutor with eccentric methods.
—Patrick Frater, Variety, 19 Feb. 2024
See All Example Sentences for footloose
Recent Examples of Synonyms for footloose
Adjective
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Compared to Rich Table, RT Bistro is more intimate, with slightly brighter lighting, but an equally loose vibe.—
Cesar Hernandez,
San Francisco Chronicle,
27 Mar. 2026
-
Borrowers, particularly private equity firms, increasingly turned to direct lenders offering faster execution and looser terms.—
Lee Ying Shan,
CNBC,
27 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The silent generation thought boomers were too freewheeling.—
Harvard Business Review,
Harvard Business Review,
30 Dec. 2025
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Todd Snider, the freewheeling American artist known for his sharp wit and decades of genre-blending songwriting, has died.—
Stephanie Giang-Paunon,
FOXNews.com,
15 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
Property-tax breaks, discounted prices on land, cheap leases, municipal bonds, free utilities—local governments will offer all these things and more to get teams to come or to stay.—
Louisa Thomas,
New Yorker,
29 Mar. 2026
-
Soccer journalist Andrew Wiebe will moderate a panel discussion exploring how data is transforming the sport at this free event.—
Dan Kelly
March 29,
Kansas City Star,
29 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The sport is still years away from drawing the casual fan to the arena.—
Mac Engel
March 31,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
31 Mar. 2026
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It’s built for casual listening virtually anywhere, including the park, the beach, or at home, and offers up to 7 hours of battery life on a single charge.—
BestReviews,
Chicago Tribune,
30 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Valadao’s campaign says the votes show the congressman is an independent thinker, unbound by partisan ideology.—
David Lightman,
Sacbee.com,
15 Jan. 2026
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Tiwa Savage has stepped into her era of emotional depth—unbound and unbothered.—
Essence,
Essence,
4 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Footloose.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/footloose. Accessed 2 Apr. 2026.
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