relax

English Online Dictionary. What means relax‎? What does relax mean?

English

Etymology

From Middle English relaxen, from Old French relaxer, from Latin relaxāre (“relax, loosen, open”), from re- (“back”) + laxāre (“loosen”), from laxus (“loose, free”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɹɪˈlæks/
• Rhymes: -æks

Verb

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

     I relax in the living room.

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

5. (intransitive) To become less severe or tense.
6. (transitive) To make something (such as codes and regulations) more lenient.
7. (intransitive, of codes and regulations) To become more lenient.
8. (transitive) To relieve (something) from stress.

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

Antonyms

• stress, excite

Derived terms

• relaxable
• overrelax, underrelax

Related terms

• relaxation

Translations

Anagrams

• laxer, raxle

French

Alternative forms

• relaxe

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʁə.laks/
• Homophone: relaxe

Adjective

relax (feminine relaxe, masculine plural relax, feminine plural relaxes)

1. relaxed

   Synonyms: calme, décontracté, détendu, serein, zen

Further reading

• “relax”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
• “relax” in Dictionnaire français en ligne Larousse.

Italian

Etymology

Pseudo-anglicism, a clipping of relaxation.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /reˈlaks/
• Rhymes: -aks
• Hyphenation: re‧làx

Noun

relax m (invariable)

1. relaxation (mental or physical)

References

Spanish

Etymology

Pseudo-anglicism, shortening of English relaxation or erroneous borrowing of English relax.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /reˈlaɡs/ [reˈlaɣ̞s]
• Rhymes: -aɡs
• Syllabification: re‧lax

Noun

relax m (uncountable)

1. relaxation

Derived terms

Further reading

• “relax”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10