relax

Borrowed 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.

• IPA^(key): /ɹɪˈlæks/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æks

relax (third-person singular simple present relaxes, present participle relaxing, simple past and past participle relaxed)

1. (transitive) To calm down.
2. (transitive) To make something loose.

   to relax a rope or cord

   to relax the muscles or sinews

   • (Can we date this quote?) John Milton

     Horror […] all his joints relaxed.

3. (intransitive) To become loose.
   • 2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)

     I relax in the living room.

     Audio (US)

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4. (transitive) To make something less severe or tense.

   to relax discipline

   to relax one's attention or endeavours

5. (intransitive) To become less severe or tense.
6. (transitive) To make something (such as codes and regulations) more lenient.
   • (Can we date this quote?) Jonathan Swift

     The statute of mortmain was at several times relaxed by the legislature.

   • 1953, “Section 2. Jurisdiction”, in Edward Samuel Corwin, editor, The Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis and Interpretation‎, 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."

7. (intransitive, of codes and regulations) To become more lenient.
8. (transitive) To relieve (something) from stress.

   Amusement relaxes the mind.

9. (transitive, dated) To relieve from constipation; to loosen; to open.

   An aperient relaxes the bowels.

• stress, excite

• relaxable
• overrelax, underrelax

• relaxation

• laxer, raxle

relax m (invariable)

1. relaxation (mental or physical)

Pseudo-anglicism, shortening of English relaxion or erroneously borrowing of English relax.

relax m (uncountable)

1. relaxation

• estar de relax