as in to facilitate
to free from obstruction or difficulty
hoped that adding a second lane would loosen up traffic on that street
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to relax
to get rid of nervous tension or anxiety
a high-pressure job that makes it hard for him to loosen up even on weekends
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of loosen (up)
Eve Batey, Vanity Fair, 7 Feb. 2026
People with burns over a large part of their body were immersed in large tubs filled with saline solution to loosen up with dead skin.
—Letters To The Editor, Hartford Courant, 5 Feb. 2026
McCurdy adds that guests themselves tend to loosen up when phones are out of reach.
—Nikita Khanna, Vogue, 5 Feb. 2026
Skarsgård explained that the same thing was applied to his facial expressions, to assure that the character loosened up over the course of the film.
—Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 25 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for loosen (up)
Verb
At the show's afterparty, Browne and his models—some still wearing the metallic hair adornments from the show—loosened up a bit as a DJ positioned in one corner of the tent attempted to manifest Latifah with a quick mix of her hits.
—Eve Batey, Vanity Fair, 7 Feb. 2026
People with burns over a large part of their body were immersed in large tubs filled with saline solution to loosen up with dead skin.
—Letters To The Editor, Hartford Courant, 5 Feb. 2026
McCurdy adds that guests themselves tend to loosen up when phones are out of reach.
—Nikita Khanna, Vogue, 5 Feb. 2026
Skarsgård explained that the same thing was applied to his facial expressions, to assure that the character loosened up over the course of the film.
—Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 25 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for loosen (up)
Cite this Entry
“Loosen (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/loosen%20%28up%29. Accessed 12 Mar. 2026.
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