[
UK
/ɹɪlˈæks/
]
[ US /ɹiˈɫæks, ɹɪˈɫæks/ ]
[ US /ɹiˈɫæks, ɹɪˈɫæks/ ]
VERB
-
become less severe or strict
The rules relaxed after the new director arrived -
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 -
make less severe or strict
The government relaxed the curfew after most of the rebels were caught -
cause to feel relaxed
A hot bath always relaxes me -
become loose or looser or less tight
The noose loosened
the rope relaxed -
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 -
make less taut
relax the tension on the rope -
make less active or fast
Don't relax your efforts now
He slackened his pace as he got tired
How To Use relax In A Sentence
- She also lent me a couple of Ben Elton books which were good, but not as good for relaxing as they have a whole dark seedy side.
- On the fives court, his nervous housemaster could relax, “rushing about,” as Roald described it, “shrieking what a little fool he is, and calling himself all sorts of names when he misses the ball.” Storyteller
- The trek was a bit monotonous at times - I wanted to go faster - but it was relaxing, enjoyable and worth the sore backside.
- Their movements have a likable jazzy syncopation, a bit of relaxed jive.
- By night the beach comes alive with the sound of reggae from relaxed bars. Times, Sunday Times
- The depth and rate of breathing are controlled by special centres in the brain, which influence the nerves that cause contraction and relaxation of the muscles of respiration.
- Then take a well-earned rest and relax with all the other amazing puzzles on offer. The Sun
- She's so relaxed in behind but idles as soon as she hits the front.
- Surrounded by cottonwoods and aspens and featuring a wooden footbridge and an abundance of regional flora and foliage, it's a place to meditate, contemplate, and relax.
- Having worked himself into this ridiculous kind of phrensy, which lasted, perhaps, from twenty to thirty seconds, he suddenly discontinued it, and suffered his features to relax into their natural form; but the motion of his head seemed to have so stupified him, as indeed it well might, that there remained an unusual vacancy and a drowsy stare upon his countenance for some time afterward. Three Voyages for the Discovery of a Northwest Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and Narrative of an Attempt to Reach the North Pole, Volume 1