loosely

loose  (ls)

adj. loos·er, loos·est

1. Not fastened, restrained, or contained: loose bricks.

2. Not taut, fixed, or rigid: a loose anchor line; a loose chair leg.

3. Free from confinement or imprisonment; unfettered: criminals loose in the neighborhood; dogs that are loose on the streets.

4. Not tight-fitting or tightly fitted: loose shoes.

5. Not bound, bundled, stapled, or gathered together: loose papers.

6. Not compact or dense in arrangement or structure: loose gravel.

7. Lacking a sense of restraint or responsibility; idle: loose talk.

8. Not formal; relaxed: a loose atmosphere at the club.

9. Lacking conventional moral restraint in sexual behavior.

10. Not literal or exact: a loose translation.

11. Characterized by a free movement of fluids in the body: a loose cough; loose bowels.

adv.

In a loose manner.

v. loosed, loos·ing, loos·es

v.tr.

1. To let loose; release: loosed the dogs.

2. To make loose; undo: loosed his belt.

3. To cast loose; detach: hikers loosing their packs at camp.

4. To let fly; discharge: loosed an arrow.

5. To release pressure or obligation from; absolve: loosed her from the responsibility.

6. To make less strict; relax: a leader's strong authority that was loosed by easy times.

v.intr.

1. To become loose.

2. To discharge a missile; fire.

Idiom:

on the loose

1. At large; free.

2. Acting in an uninhibited fashion.

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[Middle English louse, los, from Old Norse lauss; see leu- in Indo-European roots.]

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loosely adv.

looseness n.

Synonyms: loose, lax, slack¹
These adjectives mean not tautly bound, held, or fastened: loose reins; a lax rope; slack sails.

Antonym: tight

Thesaurus

Adv.	1.	loosely - in a relaxed manner; not rigid; "his hands lay loosely" slackly
	2.	loosely - in a loose manner; "a union of loosely federated states"
	3.	loosely - without regard to specific details or exceptions; "he interprets the law broadly" broadly, broadly speaking, generally
	4.	loosely - knitted in a loose manner; "loosely knit"

Translations

loosely [ˈluːslɪ] ADV

1. (= not tightly) [fasten, tie] → con un nudo flojo, ligeramente; [hold] → sin apretar, ligeramente
a loosely tied bandage → un vendaje poco apretado
cover the dish loosely with foil → cubrir la fuente ligeramente con papel de plata
to hang loosely [arms] → colgar relajado; [skin, flesh] → colgar fláccido
his shirt hung loosely from his shoulders → la camisa le caía ancha de hombros

2. (= not precisely) [translated] → libremente
a novel loosely based on the life of Shakespeare → una novela basada, en términos generales, sobre la vida de Shakespeare
it is loosely defined as → en términos generales se define como ..., sin ser muy precisos or rigurosos se define como ...
loosely speaking → hablando en términos generales
what is loosely termed socialist realism → lo que se denomina, de forma poco precisa, realismo socialista

3. (= informally) [organized, structured] → sin mucha rigidez, con bastante flexibilidad
groups loosely connected to the Hizbollah movement → grupos mpl que tienen cierta conexión con el movimiento Hezbolá

loosely [ˈluːsli] adv

(not tight) [hold, hang, tie] → sans serrer
Tie the knot loosely → Faites le nœud sans serrer.
He tied his belt loosely → Il a noué sa ceinture sans la serrer.
a shirt tied loosely at the waist
BUT une chemise lâchement nouée à la taille.
His shirt hung loosely over his thin shoulders
BUT Sa chemise pendait sur ses maigres épaules.

(not strictly) [linked, connected] → vaguement; [define, translate] → approximativement
loosely structured
loosely structured therapy sessions → des séances de thérapie peu structurées
loosely based
a film loosely based on real-life events → un film qui s'inspire librement d'événements réels
loosely speaking → grosso modo, en gros
loosely-knit [ˌluːsliˈnɪt] adj [group, alliance] → élastique

loosely

adv

→ lose, locker; knit, weave → locker; in hot countries it’s better to be loosely dressed in robes → in warmen Ländern trägt man besser weit geschnittene or lose hängende Kleider; his hands dangled loosely from his wrists → er ließ seine Hände locker baumeln; he held her hand loosely in his → er hielt ihre Hand locker in der seinen

(= imprecisely) loosely speaking → grob gesagt; loosely translated → frei übersetzt; loosely based on Shakespeare → frei nach Shakespeare; the character is loosely based on X → die Figur ist frei nach X gestaltet; what is loosely termed socialist realism → das, was man ganz allgemein als sozialistischen Realismus bezeichnet; I was using the word rather loosely → ich habe das Wort ziemlich frei gebraucht; they are loosely connected → sie hängen lose zusammen

(= informally) organized, structured → lose; a loosely knit group → eine lose Gruppe

behave → unmoralisch; he lives loosely → er führt ein loses or lockeres Leben

loosely [ˈluːslɪ] adv (hold, tie) → senza stringere; (associate) → vagamente; (translate) → liberamente; (use word) → in modo improprio

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loosely [ˈluːslɪ] adv (hold, tie) → senza stringere; (associate) → vagamente; (translate) → liberamente; (use word) → in modo improprio