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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Loose \Loose\ (l[=oo]s), adjective [Compar. {Looser} (l[=oo]s"[~e]r); superl. {Loosest}.] [OE. loos, lous, laus, Icel. lauss; akin to OD. loos, D. los, AS. le['a]s false, deceitful, G. los, loose, Dan. & Sw. l["o]s, Goth. laus, and E. lose. [root]127. See {Lose}, and cf. {Leasing} falsehood.]
1. Unbound; untied; unsewed; not attached, fastened, fixed, or confined; as, the loose sheets of a book.
Her hair, nor loose, nor tied in formal plat. --Shak.
2. Free from constraint or obligation; not bound by duty, habit, etc.; -- with from or of.
Now I stand Loose of my vow; but who knows Cato's thoughts ? --Addison.
3. Not tight or close; as, a loose garment.
4. Not dense, close, compact, or crowded; as, a cloth of loose texture.
With horse and chariots ranked in loose array. --Milton.
5. Not precise or exact; vague; indeterminate; as, a loose style, or way of reasoning.
The comparison employed . . . must be considered rather as a loose analogy than as an exact scientific explanation. --Whewel.
6. Not strict in matters of morality; not rigid according to some standard of right.
The loose morality which he had learned. --Sir W. Scott.
7. Unconnected; rambling.
Vario spends whole mornings in running over loose and unconnected pages. --I. Watts.
8. Lax; not costive; having lax bowels. --Locke.
9. Dissolute; unchaste; as, a loose man or woman.
Loose ladies in delight. --Spenser.
10. Containing or consisting of obscene or unchaste language; as, a loose epistle. --Dryden.
{At loose ends}, not in order; in confusion; carelessly managed.
{Fast and loose}. See under {Fast}.
{To break loose}. See under {Break}.
{Loose pulley}. (Mach.) See {Fast and loose pulleys}, under {Fast}.
{To let loose}, to free from restraint or confinement; to set at liberty.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
1. Freedom from restraint. [Obs.] --Prior.
2. A letting go; discharge. --B. Jonson.
{To give a loose}, to give freedom.
Vent all its griefs, and give a loose to sorrow. --Addison.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Loose \Loose\ (l[=oo]s), v. n. [imp. & p. p. {Loosed} (l[=oo]st); p. pr. & vb. n. {Loosing}.] [From {Loose}, adjective]
1. To untie or unbind; to free from any fastening; to remove the shackles or fastenings of; to set free; to relieve.
Canst thou . . . loose the bands of Orion ? --Job. xxxviii. 31.
Ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her; loose them, and bring them unto me. --Matt. xxi. 2.
2. To release from anything obligatory or burdensome; to disengage; hence, to absolve; to remit.
Art thou loosed from a wife ? seek not a wife. --1 Cor. vii. 27.
Whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. --Matt. xvi. 19.
3. To relax; to loosen; to make less strict.
The joints of his loins were loosed. --Dan. v. 6.
4. To solve; to interpret. [Obs.] --Spenser.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Loose \Loose\, verb (used without an object) To set sail. [Obs.] --Acts xiii. 13.
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
adverb
1: without restraint; "cows in India are running loose" [syn: {loose}, {free}]
adjective
1: not compact or dense in structure or arrangement; "loose gravel" [ant: {compact}]
2: (of a ball in sport) not in the possession or control of any player; "a loose ball"
3: not tight; not closely constrained or constricted or constricting; "loose clothing"; "the large shoes were very loose" [ant: {tight}]
4: not officially recognized or controlled; "an informal agreement"; "a loose organization of the local farmers" [syn: {informal}, {loose}]
5: not literal; "a loose interpretation of what she had been told"; "a free translation of the poem" [syn: {free}, {loose}, {liberal}]
6: emptying easily or excessively; "loose bowels" [syn: {lax}, {loose}]
7: not affixed; "the stamp came loose" [syn: {unaffixed}, {loose}] [ant: {affixed}]
8: not tense or taut; "the old man's skin hung loose and grey"; "slack and wrinkled skin"; "slack sails"; "a slack rope" [syn: {loose}, {slack}]
9: (of textures) full of small openings or gaps; "an open texture"; "a loose weave" [syn: {loose}, {open}]
10: lacking a sense of restraint or responsibility; "idle talk"; "a loose tongue" [syn: {idle}, {loose}]
11: not carefully arranged in a package; "a box of loose nails"
12: having escaped, especially from confinement; "a convict still at large"; "searching for two escaped prisoners"; "dogs loose on the streets"; "criminals on the loose in the neighborhood" [syn: {at large(p)}, {escaped}, {loose}, {on the loose(p)}]
13: casual and unrestrained in sexual behavior; "her easy virtue"; "he was told to avoid loose (or light) women"; "wanton behavior" [syn: {easy}, {light}, {loose}, {promiscuous}, {sluttish}, {wanton}]
verb
1: grant freedom to; free from confinement [syn: {free}, {liberate}, {release}, {unloose}, {unloosen}, {loose}] [ant: {confine}, {detain}]
2: turn loose or free from restraint; "let loose mines"; "Loose terrible plagues upon humanity" [syn: {unleash}, {let loose}, {loose}]
3: make loose or looser; "loosen the tension on a rope" [syn: {loosen}, {loose}] [ant: {stiffen}]
4: become loose or looser or less tight; "The noose loosened"; "the rope relaxed" [syn: {loosen}, {relax}, {loose}] [ant: {stiffen}]
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Definitions retrieved from the Open Source DICT Webster's English and WordNet 3.0 dictionaries. Click here for database copyright information.
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