relax

re·lax  (r-lks)

v. re·laxed, re·lax·ing, re·lax·es

v.tr.

1. To make lax or loose: relax one's grip.

2. To make less severe or strict: relax a curfew.

3. To reduce in intensity; slacken: relax one's efforts.

4. To relieve from tension or strain: The warm bath relaxed me.

v.intr.

1. To take one's ease; rest.

2. To become lax or loose.

3. To become less severe or strict.

4. To become less restrained or tense.

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[Middle English relaxen, from Old French relaxer, from Latin relaxre : re-, re- + laxre, to loosen (from laxus, loose; see slg- in Indo-European roots).]

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re·laxa·ble adj.

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relax [rɪˈlæks]

vb

1. to make (muscles, a grip, etc.) less tense or rigid or (of muscles, a grip, etc.) to become looser or less rigid

2. (intr) to take rest or recreation, as from work or effort on Sundays, she just relaxes she relaxes by playing golf

3. to lessen the force of (effort, concentration, etc.) or (of effort) to become diminished

4. to make (rules or discipline) less rigid or strict or (of rules, etc.) to diminish in severity

5. (intr) (of a person) to become less formal; unbend

[from Latin relaxāre to loosen, from re- + laxāre to loosen, from laxus loose, lax]

relaxable  adj

relaxed  adj

relaxedly  [rɪˈlæksɪdlɪ] adv

Thesaurus

Verb	1.	relax - become less tense, rest, or take one's ease; "He relaxed in the hot tub"; "Let's all relax after a hard day's work" decompress, unwind, loosen up, slow down, unbend vege out, vegetate - engage in passive relaxation; "After a hard day's work, I vegetate in front of the television" sit back, take it easy - settle into a comfortable sitting position change state, turn - undergo a transformation or a change of position or action; "We turned from Socialism to Capitalism"; "The people turned against the President when he stole the election" tense up, tense - become tense, nervous, or uneasy; "He tensed up when he saw his opponent enter the room"
	2.	relax - make less taut; "relax the tension on the rope" unbend loosen, loose - make loose or looser; "loosen the tension on a rope" unbrace - remove from tension
	3.	relax - become loose or looser or less tight; "The noose loosened"; "the rope relaxed" loose, loosen weaken - become weaker; "The prisoner's resistance weakened after seven days"
	4.	relax - cause to feel relaxed; "A hot bath always relaxes me" make relaxed, unlax, unstrain, unwind, loosen up affect - act physically on; have an effect upon; "the medicine affects my heart rate" unbend - release from mental strain, tension, or formality; "unbend the mind from absorbing too much information" tense up, tense, strain - cause to be tense and uneasy or nervous or anxious; "he got a phone call from his lawyer that tensed him up"
	5.	relax - become less tense, less formal, or less restrained, and assume a friendlier manner; "our new colleague relaxed when he saw that we were a friendly group" loosen up behave, act, do - behave in a certain manner; show a certain behavior; conduct or comport oneself; "You should act like an adult"; "Don't behave like a fool"; "What makes her do this way?"; "The dog acts ferocious, but he is really afraid of people"
	6.	relax - make less severe or strict; "The government relaxed the curfew after most of the rebels were caught" loosen alter, change, modify - cause to change; make different; cause a transformation; "The advent of the automobile may have altered the growth pattern of the city"; "The discussion has changed my thinking about the issue" loosen, relax - become less severe or strict; "The rules relaxed after the new director arrived"
	7.	relax - become less severe or strict; "The rules relaxed after the new director arrived" loosen 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" loosen, relax - make less severe or strict; "The government relaxed the curfew after most of the rebels were caught"
	8.	relax - make less active or fast; "He slackened his pace as he got tired"; "Don't relax your efforts now" slack up, slacken, slack minify, decrease, lessen - make smaller; "He decreased his staff"

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relax

verb

1. be or feel at ease, chill out (slang, chiefly U.S.), take it easy, loosen up, laze, lighten up (slang), put your feet up, hang loose (slang), let yourself go (informal), let your hair down (informal), mellow out (informal), make yourself at home, outspan (S. African), take your ease I ought to relax and stop worrying about it.
be or feel at ease be alert, be alarmed

2. calm down, calm, soothe, unwind, pacify, loosen up, tranquillize Do something that you know relaxes you.

3. make less tense, soften, loosen up, unbend, unknot, rest Massage is used to relax muscles.

4. lessen, reduce, ease, relieve, weaken, loosen, let up, slacken He gradually relaxed his grip on the arms of the chair.
lessen work, increase, tighten, tense, intensify

5. moderate, ease, relieve, weaken, diminish, mitigate, slacken Rules governing student conduct have been relaxed in recent years.
moderate heighten, tighten up

Translations

relax [rɪˈlæks]

A. VT [+ person, body, part of body] → relajar; [+ discipline, rules, controls] → relajar; [+ standards] → dejar que bajen
to relax one's muscles → relajar los músculos
to relax one's grip or hold on sth → dejar de agarrarse de or a algo tan apretadamente, soltar algo (fig) → ejercer menor control sobre algo

B. VI

1. [person] (= rest, lose inhibitions) → relajarse; (= calm down) → relajarse, tranquilizarse; (= amuse oneself) → esparcirse, expansionarse
I like to relax with a book → me gusta relajarme leyendo
relax! everything's fine → ¡tranquilízate! todo está bien
we relaxed in the sun of Majorca → nos relajamos bajo el sol de Mallorca
I find it difficult to relax with her → me resulta difícil estar relajado cuando estoy con ella

2. [person, body, muscles] → relajarse
his face relaxed into a smile → relajó la cara y sonrió
we must not relax in our efforts → es preciso no cejar en nuestros esfuerzos

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relax [rɪˈlæks]

vi

(= unwind) [person] → se détendre
I relax listening to music → Je me détends en écoutant de la musique.

(= calm down) [person] → se détendre
Relax! Everything's fine → Détends-toi! Tout va bien.

[muscles, grip] → se relâcher
His grip on the handle relaxed
BUT Il relâcha sa prise sur la poignée.

vt

(= soothe) [+ mind, person] → détendre
Soft music helps to relax the mind → La musique douce aide à se détendre l'esprit., La musique douce aide à détendre l'esprit.

(= loosen) [+ grip] → relâcher, desserrer; [+ muscle] → détendre
He gradually relaxed his grip → Il relâcha graduellement sa prise., Il desserra graduellement sa prise.

(= make less strict) [+ rules, restrictions] → assouplir

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relax

vt → lockern; muscles also, person, one’s mind → entspannen; attention, effort → nachlassen in (+dat); to relax the bowels (Med) → den Stuhlgang fördern

vi → (sich) entspannen; (= rest) → (sich) ausruhen; (= calm down) → sich beruhigen; let’s just relax! → ganz ruhig!; relax! → reg dich nicht auf!, immer mit der Ruhe!; his face relaxed into a smile → sein Gesicht entspannte sich zu einem Lächeln

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relax [rɪˈlæks]

1. vt (muscles, person) → rilassare; (restrictions) → diminuire; (discipline) → allentare
to relax one's hold on sth → allentare la presa di qc

2. vi (rest) → rilassarsi; (amuse oneself) → svagarsi; (slacken, sb's grip) → allentarsi; (calm down) relax! → calma!
his face relaxed into a smile → il suo viso si distese in un sorriso

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relax [rɪˈlæks]

1. vt (muscles, person) → rilassare; (restrictions) → diminuire; (discipline) → allentare
to relax one's hold on sth → allentare la presa di qc

2. vi (rest) → rilassarsi; (amuse oneself) → svagarsi; (slacken, sb's grip) → allentarsi; (calm down) relax! → calma!
his face relaxed into a smile → il suo viso si distese in un sorriso

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relax

v relax [rəˈlӕks]

1 to make or become less tight or tense or less worried etc; to rest completely The doctor gave him a drug to make him relax; Relax your shoulders; He relaxed his grip for a second and the rope was dragged out of his hand. ontspan يَسْتَريح، يُرَوِّح عن نَفْسِه отпускам uvolnit (se) slappe af; løsne entspannen χαλαρώνω, ξεκουράζω, ξεκουράζομαι relajar(se) lõdvestama, pingest vabanema آرامش دادن؛ استراحت کردن rentoutua (se) relaxer/relâcher לְהֵירַגָע ढी़ला करना, होना opustiti se, relaksirati se kipiheni magát, lazít mengendurkan ketegangan slaka á rilassare, rilassarsi ゆるめる 편하게 하다 at(si)palaiduoti atbrīvot, atslābināt relek ontspannen slappe av; løsne (taket) rozluźnić się descontrair(-se) a (se) relaxa, a slăbi расслаблять uvoľniť (sa) sprostiti (se) opustiti se slappna av, lossa på ผ่อนคลาย gevşe(t)mek, sakinleş(tir)mek 放鬆 розслаблювати(ся) ڈھیلا کرنا یا چھوڑنا thư giãn 放松

2 to make or become less strict or severe The rules were relaxed because of the Queen's visit. verslap يُرْخي، يُخَفِّف . отпускам се zmírnit lempe lockern χαλαρώνω (π.χ. περιορισμούς), γίνομαι πιο ελαστικός relajar, suavizar lõdvendama, lõdvenema آسان گرفتن höllentyä relâcher לְהַרפּוֹת विश्राम करना या होना, तनाव मुक्त होना या करना, कम करना popustiti, smanjiti enyhít mengendurkan slaka á, gefa eftir rilassare, ridurre ゆるめる 완화하다 sušvelninti, sušvelnėti, susilpninti kļūt pielaidīgākam; liberalizēt dilonggarkan versoepelen slakke på uczynić łagodniejszym, złagodzić abrandar a o lăsa mai moale смягчать zmierniť omiliti olabaviti lätta på, mildra ทำให้ผ่อนคลาย gevşe(t)mek, yumuşa(t)mak 放寬 пом'якшувати(ся), робити(ся) менш суворим قانون و ضوابط میں نرمی لانا nới lỏng 放宽

n relaxˈation [riːlӕks-]

I play golf for relaxation; Golf is one of my favourite relaxations. ontspanning إسْتِرْخاء، إسْتِراحَه отмора rekreace afkobling die Entspannung ξεκούραση, χαλάρωση, αναψυχή esparcimiento, diversión, distracción; relajación lõõgastus تمدد اعصاب rentoutuminen détente רְגִיעָה रूचि relaksacija, opuštanje kikapcsolódás, időtöltés, szórakozás relaksasi afþreying; afslöppun svago 気晴らし 휴식 poilsis, pramoga atpūta; izklaide aktiviti masa lapang ontspanning avslapping relaks distracção (mod de) relaxare; distracţie отдых; развлечение rekreácia sprostitev relaksacija avkoppling การผ่อนคลาย dinlenme, rahatlama 放鬆，消遣娛樂 відпочинок; розвага تفریح sự thư giãn 解闷，放松

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relax → يَِسترخِي uvolnit (se) slappe af entspannen (sich) χαλαρώνω relajarse rentoutua se reposer opustiti se rilassarsi くつろぐ 긴장을 풀다 ontspannen slappe av odprężyć relaxar, relaxar-se расслабиться slappna av พักผ่อน gevşemek thư giãn 放松