lax

loose or slack; not firm; not strict; negligent: lax in enforcing the rules

Not to be confused with:

lacks – does not have something that is needed: The safe lacks a lock.

LAX

abbr.

lacrosse

lax

(lăks)

adj. lax·er, lax·est

1. Lacking in rigor, strictness, or firmness. See Synonyms at negligent.

2. Not taut, firm, or compact; slack. See Synonyms at loose.

3. Loose and not easily retained or controlled. Used of bowel movements.

4. Linguistics Pronounced with the muscles of the tongue and jaw relatively relaxed, as the vowel (ĕ) in let.

[Middle English, from Latin laxus, loose, lax; see slēg- in Indo-European roots.]

lax·a′tion n.

lax′ly adv.

lax′ness n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

lax

(læks)

adj

1. lacking firmness; not strict

2. lacking precision or definition

3. not taut

4. (Phonetics & Phonology) phonetics (of a speech sound) pronounced with little muscular effort and consequently having relatively imprecise accuracy of articulation and little temporal duration. In English the vowel i in bit is lax

5. (Botany) (of flower clusters) having loosely arranged parts

[C14 (originally used with reference to the bowels): from Latin laxus loose]

ˈlaxly adv

ˈlaxity, ˈlaxness n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

lax

(læks)

adj. -er, -est.

1. not strict or severe; negligent: lax morals.

2. loose or slack: a lax rope.

3. not rigidly exact or precise; vague: lax ideas.

4. loose, open, or not retentive, as the bowels.

5. having the bowels loose or open.

6. open or not compact; having a loosely cohering structure; porous: lax texture.

7. (of a vowel) articulated with relatively relaxed tongue muscles. Compare tense ¹ (def. 4).

[1350–1400; Middle English < Latin laxus loose, slack, wide]

lax′ly, adv.

lax′ness, n.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Adj.	1.	lax - lacking in rigor or strictness; "such lax and slipshod ways are no longer acceptable"; "lax in attending classes"; "slack in maintaining discipline" slack negligent - characterized by neglect and undue lack of concern; "negligent parents"; "negligent of detail"; "negligent in his correspondence"
	2.	lax - pronounced with muscles of the tongue and jaw relatively relaxed (e.g., the vowel sound in `bet') phonetics - the branch of acoustics concerned with speech processes including its production and perception and acoustic analysis tense - pronounced with relatively tense tongue muscles (e.g., the vowel sound in `beat')
	3.	lax - lacking in strength or firmness or resilience; "a lax rope"; "a limp handshake" loose - not tight; not closely constrained or constricted or constricting; "loose clothing"; "the large shoes were very loose" tense - taut or rigid; stretched tight; "tense piano strings"
	4.	lax - emptying easily or excessively; "loose bowels" loose unconstipated, regular - not constipated

lax

adjective

1. slack, casual, careless, sloppy (informal), easy-going, negligent, lenient, slapdash, neglectful, slipshod, remiss, easy-peasy (slang), overindulgent One of the problems is lax security for airport personnel.
slack severe, disciplined, strict, stern, rigid, stringent, conscientious, scrupulous, heedful

2. loose, soft, yielding, slack, flabby, flaccid exercises to improve lax muscles
loose firm, rigid

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

lax

adjective

1. Not strict or severe:

charitable, clement, easy, forbearing, indulgent, lenient, merciful, soft, tolerant.

2. Guilty of neglect; lacking due care or concern:

derelict, neglectful, negligent, remiss, slack.

3. Not tautly bound, held, or fastened:

loose, relaxed, slack.

Translations

غَيْر صارِم، مُتَراخٍ

nedbalý

slap

lässigungespannt

ample large négligent relâché

kærulaus; léttúîugur

rilassato trascurato

nepakankamai griežtas

izlaidīgsnevīžīgspaviršsvaļīgs

lasso

laxný

kayıtsızumursamaz

不严格的松懈的马虎的

lax

[læks] ADJ (laxer (compar) (laxest (superl))) (pej) [person, discipline] → poco estricto, poco riguroso; [standards, morals] → laxo, relajado
things are very lax at the school → en el colegio hay poca disciplina
to be lax about or on punctuality → ser negligente en la puntualidad
to be morally lax → tener una moral laxa or relajada

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

lax

[ˈlæks] adj [security, standards] → relâché(e)

lax

adj (+er)

→ lax; discipline → lasch, lax; morals → locker, lose; she is rather lax in her relations with men → sie hat ein recht lockeres Verhältnis zu Männern; to be lax about something → etw vernachlässigen; he’s lax about washing/imposing discipline → er nimmts mit dem Waschen/der Disziplin nicht so genau; I’ve been rather lax about replying to your letters → ich habe mir mit der Beantwortung Ihrer Briefe reichlich viel Zeit gelassen; things are very lax at the school → in der Schule geht es sehr lax or undiszipliniert zu

lax bowels → dünner Stuhl(gang)

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

lax

[læks] adj (-er (comp) (-est (superl))) (conduct) → lassista; (person, careless) → negligente; (on discipline) → permissivo/a
to be lax about punctuality → non tenere or badare alla puntualità

lax

(lӕks) adjective

careless or not strict in discipline or morals. Pupils have been rather lax about some of the school rules recently.

ˈlaxity noun

ˈlaxness noun

lax

a. laxo-a, suelto-a, relajado-a.

lax

adj laxo, flojo