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)
Cj Moore, The Athletic, 21 Mar. 2025
Let your guard down and loosen up a bit!
—Georgia Nicols, The Denver Post, 9 Mar. 2025
With natural arm movement, people practice loosening up while balancing.
—Matt Fuchs, TIME, 7 Mar. 2025
Cannabis can help loosen up emotional attachments to clothes that don’t serve you anymore.
—Matt Rozo, The Mercury News, 28 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for loosen (up)
Verb
Down the stretch, Drake finally loosened up and made layup after layup against Mizzou’s pressing defense, with Stirtz delivering the passes to put the game out of reach.
—Cj Moore, The Athletic, 21 Mar. 2025
Let your guard down and loosen up a bit!
—Georgia Nicols, The Denver Post, 9 Mar. 2025
With natural arm movement, people practice loosening up while balancing.
—Matt Fuchs, TIME, 7 Mar. 2025
Cannabis can help loosen up emotional attachments to clothes that don’t serve you anymore.
—Matt Rozo, The Mercury News, 28 Feb. 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 1 May. 2025.
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