From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Relaxation \Re'lax*a"tion\ (r?'l?ks-?"sh?n;277), noun [L. relaxatio; cf. F. relaxation.]
1. The act or process of relaxing, or the state of being relaxed; as, relaxation of the muscles; relaxation of a law.
2. Remission from attention and effort; indulgence in recreation, diversion, or amusement. ''Hours of careless relaxation.'' --Macaulay.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
noun
1: (physiology) the gradual lengthening of inactive muscle or muscle fibers
2: (physics) the exponential return of a system to equilibrium after a disturbance [syn: {relaxation behavior}]
3: a state of refreshing tranquility [syn: {easiness}]
4: an occurrence of control or strength weakening; "the relaxation of requirements"; "the loosening of his grip"; "the slackening of the wind" [syn: {loosening}, {slackening}]
5: freedom from activity (work or strain or responsibility); "took his repose by the swimming pool" [syn: {rest}, {ease}, {repose}]
6: a method of solving simultaneous equations by guessing a solution and then reducing the errors that result by successive approximations until all the errors are less than some specified amount [syn: {relaxation method}]
7: the act of making less strict [syn: {liberalization}, {liberalisation}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
129 Moby Thesaurus words for "relaxation": abatement, abridgment, allayment, alleviation, amusement, assuagement, attenuation, attrition, bagginess, blunting, calming, carelessness, comfort, contraction, cushioning, dampening, damping, deadening, debilitation, decrease, decrement, decrescence, deduction, deflation, demulsion, depreciation, depression, devitalization, dilution, diminishment, diminution, diversion, divertisement, divertissement, dulcification, dulling, dying, dying off, ease, easiness, easing, easygoingness, effemination, enervation, enfeeblement, enjoyment, entertainment, evisceration, exhaustion, extenuation, fade-out, falling-off, fatigue, fun, hushing, impotence, imprecision, inactivity, inanition, indifference, languishment, laxation, laxity, laxness, leisure, leniency, lessening, letdown, letup, lightening, looseness, loosening, lowering, lulling, mellowing, miniaturization, mirth, mitigation, moderation, modulation, mollification, mollifying, negligence, overindulgence, overpermissiveness, pacification, padding, palliation, passe-temps, pastime, permissiveness, pleasure, quiet, quietening, quieting, recreation, reduction, regalement, relaxedness, relief, remission, remissness, repose, rest, restfulness, ricketiness, sagging, scaling down, shakiness, simplicity, slackening, slackness, sleep, sloppiness, softening, softening-up, softness, solace, soothing, subduement, subtraction, tempering, thinning, tranquilization, tranquillity, unbuttoned ease, unrestraint, weakening, weakness
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