relax

1 to get rid of nervous tension or anxiety she took deep breaths to relax before going on stage Synonyms chill, chill out [slang], decompress, de-stress, loosen up, mellow (out), unwind, wind down 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 Phrases hang loose Antonyms tense (up)

2 to make less taut relax the rope a bit so I can pick up the slack and tie this knot Synonyms ease, loosen, slacken, slackRelated Words detach, free, unbind, undo, unfasten, untieNear Antonyms attach, bind, fasten, tie; constrain, restrainAntonyms strain, stretch, tense, tension, tighten

3 to refrain from labor or exertion I just want to kick back and relax after mowing that huge lawn Synonyms bask, kick back, loll, lounge, rest, reposeRelated Words bum, goldbrick, hang, hang about [British], hang around, idle, loaf, slack (off), veg outNear Antonyms drudge, grub, hump, hustle, labor, moil, peg (away), plod, plow, plug, slave, slog, strain, strive, struggle, sweat, toil, travail, work; exercise, work out