relax

A2 Topic:Entertainment & Leisure

US /ɹɪˈlæks/ See IPA manual

Freq #907

Meanings

1

verb
To rest and become calm, free from worry or effort.

I relaxed in the hot tub with some friends.
2

verb
To make someone feel calm and free from stress.

A hot bath always relaxes me.
3

verb
To make a rule or control less strict, or to become less strict.

The government relaxed the rules after the protests ended.
4

verb
To make a part of the body less tight or tense.

Take a deep breath and relax your shoulders.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to rest and become calm,... unwind decompressloosen up

2 verb · to make someone feel calm... unwind

3 verb · to make a rule or control... loosen

4 verb · to make a part of the body... unbend

Opposites

excite stress

Word family

Forms relaxes

Derived forms chillaxoverrelaxprerelaxrelaxablerelaxaconrelaxaserelaxativerelaxinrelaxionrelaxographicrelaxographyrelaxometry

Related forms relaxation

Appears in

Proverbs (1)

See all

Relax and enjoy it

Simplified etymology

Relax, recorded from the late Middle English period, is ultimately related to Latin laxus, meaning “loose” or “lax”; the prefix re- intensifies the sense.

Etymology

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

relaxen Middle English relaxer Old French relaxāre Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Entertainment & Leisure

External links

# relax

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A2
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /ɹɪˈlæks/
**Frequency rank:** 907

## Meanings
1. To rest and become calm, free from worry or effort.
2. To make someone feel calm and free from stress.
3. To make a rule or control less strict, or to become less strict.
4. To make a part of the body less tight or tense.

## Examples
- I relaxed in the hot tub with some friends.
- A hot bath always relaxes me.
- The government relaxed the rules after the protests ended.
- Take a deep breath and relax your shoulders.

## Antonyms
- excite
- stress

## Derived Forms
- chillax
- overrelax
- prerelax
- relaxable
- relaxacon
- relaxase
- relaxative
- relaxin
- relaxion
- relaxographic
- relaxography
- relaxometry

## Related Forms
- relaxation

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: relaxen
- Root: relaxer
- Root: relaxāre

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

## AI Etymology
Relax comes from Middle English relaxen, from Old French relaxer, from Latin relaxāre (“relax, loosen, open”), from re- (“back”) + laxāre (“loosen”), from laxus (“loose, free”). By surface analysis, re- + lax (“open, free, loose”). Modern senses include to rest and become calm, free from worry or effort. and to make someone feel calm and free from stress.. The wider word family includes derivatives such as chillax, overrelax, prerelax, relaxable, relaxacon, and relaxase and related forms such as relaxation.

## Topics
- Entertainment & Leisure

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