ˈlüs ə n verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English losnen, loosnen, from loos, lous loose + -nen -en
transitive verb
1. : to set free : release from restraint : let loose
loosen the tongues of the … prisoners — Saturday Review
2. : to make looser : free from or lessen the tightness, firmness, or fixedness of
loosen a screw
refused to loosen his control of charity funds — Fortnight
loosens social ties
a liming process … loosens the hair — American Guide Series: Pennsylvania
3. : to remove costiveness from or relax (the bowels)
4.
a. : to weaken the attachment or adhesion between : detach
the ivy creeping up the wall … does not loosen its ancient stones — Newman Smyth
b. : to separate the particles of or make less firmly packed
a cultivator … will loosen hard-packed earth — Monsanto Magazine
5. : to cause or permit to become less strict : relax the severity of
loosen the regulations governing investment in foreign countries
loosen discipline
intransitive verb
: to become loose or looser
even after his catastrophe his grip of his soul did not loosen — Hugh Walpole
the dynastic and religious entanglements … have loosened or disappeared — Edward Sapir