loosen up

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loos·en

(lo͞o′sən)

v. loos·ened, loos·en·ing, loos·ens

v.tr.

1. To make looser or less tight: loosened his tie; loosened her grip on the rope.

2. To free from restraint, pressure, or strictness: loosened the requirements for graduation.

3. To free (the bowels) from constipation.

v.intr.

To become loose or looser: My shoelace has loosened.

Phrasal Verb:

loosen up

1. To do stretches or light exercise before a more strenuous activity.

2. To become less strict or tense, as in one's demeanor; relax: always loosened up after he got home.

[Middle English lousnen, losnen, from losen, from los, loose; see loose.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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Verb	1.	loosen up - cause to become unblocked; "The medicine unstuffed my nose in minutes!" unstuff disengage, free - free or remove obstruction from; "free a path across the cluttered floor" unblock - clear or remove an obstruction from; "the procedure unblocked his arteries"
	2.	loosen up - become less tense, less formal, or less restrained, and assume a friendlier manner; "our new colleague relaxed when he saw that we were a friendly group" relax behave, act, do - behave in a certain manner; show a certain behavior; conduct or comport oneself; "You should act like an adult"; "Don't behave like a fool"; "What makes her do this way?"; "The dog acts ferocious, but he is really afraid of people"
	3.	loosen up - make one's body limber or suppler by stretching, as if to prepare for strenuous physical activity limber up, warm up exercise, work out - do physical exercise; "She works out in the gym every day"
	4.	loosen up - become less tense, rest, or take one's ease; "He relaxed in the hot tub"; "Let's all relax after a hard day's work" relax, decompress, unwind, slow down, unbend vege out, vegetate - engage in passive relaxation; "After a hard day's work, I vegetate in front of the television" sit back, take it easy - settle into a comfortable sitting position change state, turn - undergo a transformation or a change of position or action; "We turned from Socialism to Capitalism"; "The people turned against the President when he stole the election"
	5.	loosen up - cause to feel relaxed; "A hot bath always relaxes me" make relaxed, unlax, unstrain, unwind, relax affect - act physically on; have an effect upon; "the medicine affects my heart rate" unbend - release from mental strain, tension, or formality; "unbend the mind from absorbing too much information"

Translations

sciogliere [i muscoli]

w>loosen up

vt sep muscles → lockern; soil → auflockern

vi (muscles) → locker werden; (athlete) → sich (auf)lockern; (= relax) → auftauen

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

References in periodicals archive ?

Summary: I can occasionally loosen up and dance to the tunes of the joyous music of childhood

Seriously, when did I get so serious?

According to Mendigoria, Didal is undergoing therapy to loosen up her strained right thigh brought about by years of perfecting her routines.

Didal's Tokyo journey begins with systematic training

As for show co-creator Jonathan Nolan, he told (https://www.ew.com/article/2016/10/23/westworld-dissonance-theory) Entertainment Weekly that the show really has a lot of surprises in store, so fans who have strong opinions about the plot and characters need to loosen up. "I think you want to assume as little as possible when watching this show," he said.

Jimmi Simpson Reveals Reason Behind Logan's Attitude In 'Westworld'

Pick up one half and use your thumbs to push down on the center where the stem is and loosen up the seed, kind of like you are going to turn it inside out (but you're not).