as in to facilitate
to free from obstruction or difficulty
hoped that adding a second lane would loosen up traffic on that street
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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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of loosen (up)
Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 25 Jan. 2026
There’s room for a career time traveler like Styles to loosen up both structurally and lyrically.
—Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 23 Jan. 2026
In a modified approach, Boston Dynamics has clearly decided to loosen up some of the restrictions of the human form.
—Victor Tangermann, Futurism, 7 Jan. 2026
Millions of Americans, especially the richest, took advantage of the ultra-low interest rates during the pandemic, when the Fed loosened up monetary policy to shore up the economy.
—Bryan Mena, CNN Money, 27 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for loosen (up)
Verb
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
There’s room for a career time traveler like Styles to loosen up both structurally and lyrically.
—Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 23 Jan. 2026
In a modified approach, Boston Dynamics has clearly decided to loosen up some of the restrictions of the human form.
—Victor Tangermann, Futurism, 7 Jan. 2026
Millions of Americans, especially the richest, took advantage of the ultra-low interest rates during the pandemic, when the Fed loosened up monetary policy to shore up the economy.
—Bryan Mena, CNN Money, 27 Dec. 2025
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 20 Feb. 2026.
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