From Middle English relaxen, from Old French relaxer, from Latin relaxāre (“relax, loosen, open”), from re- (“back”) + laxāre (“loosen”), from laxus (“loose, free”).
A man relaxing and reading a book.
relax (third-person singular simple present relaxes, present participle relaxing, simple past and past participle relaxed)
- (transitive) To calm down.
- (transitive) To make something loose.
to relax a rope or cord
to relax the muscles or sinews
1667, John Milton, “Book VIII”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:Horror […] all his joynts relax'd.
- (intransitive) To become loose.
- (transitive) To make something less severe or tense.
to relax discipline
to relax one's attention or endeavours
- (intransitive) To become less severe or tense.
- (transitive) To make something (such as codes and regulations) more lenient.
1953, “Section 2. Jurisdiction”, in Edward Samuel Corwin, editor, The Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis and Interpretation[1], page 589:The Court rejected the contention that the doctrine of sovereign immunity should be relaxed as inapplicable to suits for specific relief as distinguished from damage suits, saying: "The Government, as representative of the community as a whole, cannot be stopped in its tracks by any plaintiff who presents a disputed question of property or contract right."
- (intransitive, of codes and regulations) To become more lenient.
- (transitive) To relieve (something) from stress.
Amusement relaxes the mind.
- (transitive, dated) To relieve from constipation; to loosen; to open.
An aperient relaxes the bowels.
to make something loose
- Arabic: اِسْتَرْخَى (istarḵā)
- Hijazi Arabic: هِدي (hidi)
- Moroccan Arabic: طْلق (ṭləq)
- Bulgarian: разхлабвам (bg) (razhlabvam)
- Catalan: relaxar (ca), afluixar (ca)
- Chinese:
- Mandarin: 放鬆/放松 (zh) (fàngsōng)
- Czech: uvolnit (cs)
- Dutch: losmaken (nl)
- Finnish: löysentää (fi), löysätä (fi)
- French: relâcher (fr)
- Galician: relaxar (gl)
- German: lockern (de), entspannen (de)
- Ido: laxigar (io)
- Japanese: くつろがせる (kutsurogaseru)
- Latin: relaxō
- Maori: whakakorokoro, whakangoru, whakatangatanga
- Norwegian: slappe av
- Polish: rozluźnić (pl) pf, poluzować
- Portuguese: soltar (pt), afrouxar (pt)
- Romanian: relaxa (ro), destinde (ro), desface (ro)
- Russian: расслабля́ть (ru) impf (rasslabljátʹ), рассла́бить (ru) pf (rasslábitʹ)
- Spanish: relajar (es), aflojar (es)
- Walloon: laispi (wa), låtchî (wa), distinkyî (wa)
- Welsh: llacio (cy)
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to make something less severe or tense
to become less severe or tense
to make something (such as codes and regulations) more lenient
to relieve (something) from stress
Translations to be checked
relax (feminine relaxe, masculine plural relax, feminine plural relaxes)
- relaxed
- Synonyms: calme, décontracté, détendu, serein, zen
Pseudo-anglicism, a clipping of relaxation.
relax m (invariable)
- relaxation (mental or physical)
Pseudo-anglicism, shortening of English relaxation or erroneous borrowing of English relax.
- IPA(key): /reˈlaɡs/ [reˈlaɣ̞s]
- Rhymes: -aɡs
- Syllabification: re‧lax
relax m (uncountable)
- relaxation