Noun

• S: (n) relaxation, loosening, slackening (an occurrence of control or strength weakening) "the relaxation of requirements"; "the loosening of his grip"; "the slackening of the wind"
• S: (n) loosening, laxation (the act of making something less tight)

Verb

• S: (v) loosen, loose (make loose or looser) "loosen the tension on a rope"
• S: (v) relax, loosen (make less severe or strict) "The government relaxed the curfew after most of the rebels were caught"
• S: (v) relax, loosen (become less severe or strict) "The rules relaxed after the new director arrived"
• S: (v) tease, tease apart, loosen (disentangle and raise the fibers of) "tease wool"
• S: (v) untie, undo, loosen (cause to become loose) "undo the shoelace"; "untie the knot"; "loosen the necktie"
• S: (v) loosen (make less dense) "loosen the soil"
• S: (v) loosen, relax, loose (become loose or looser or less tight) "The noose loosened"; "the rope relaxed"
• direct hypernym / inherited hypernym / sister term
• S: (v) weaken (become weaker) "The prisoner's resistance weakened after seven days"
• S: (v) decrease, diminish, lessen, fall (decrease in size, extent, or range) "The amount of homework decreased towards the end of the semester"; "The cabin pressure fell dramatically"; "her weight fell to under a hundred pounds"; "his voice fell to a whisper"
• S: (v) change magnitude (change in size or magnitude)
• S: (v) change (undergo a change; become different in essence; losing one's or its original nature) "She changed completely as she grew older"; "The weather changed last night"
• antonym
• derivationally related form
• sentence frame