GNU Collaborative International Dictionary of English
last match results
Found 4 definitions
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Loose (lo͞os), a. [Compar. Looser (lo͞osˈẽr); superl. Loosest.] [OE. loos, lous, laus, Icel. lauss; akin to OD. loos, D. los, AS. leás false, deceitful, G. los, loose, Dan. & Sw. lös, Goth. laus, and E. lose. √127. See Lose, and cf. Leasing falsehood.]
1. Unbound; untied; unsewed; not attached, fastened, fixed, or confined; as, “the loose sheets of a book”.
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Her hair, nor loose, nor tied in formal plat. Shak.
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2. Free from constraint or obligation; not bound by duty, habit, etc.; -- with from or of.
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Now I stand
Loose of my vow; but who knows Cato's thoughts ? Addison.
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3. Not tight or close; as, “a loose garment”.
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4. Not dense, close, compact, or crowded; as, “a cloth of loose texture”.
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With horse and chariots ranked in loose array. Milton.
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5. Not precise or exact; vague; indeterminate; as, “a loose style, or way of reasoning”.
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The comparison employed . . . must be considered rather as a loose analogy than as an exact scientific explanation. Whewel.
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6. Not strict in matters of morality; not rigid according to some standard of right.
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The loose morality which he had learned. Sir W. Scott.
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7. Unconnected; rambling.
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Vario spends whole mornings in running over loose and unconnected pages. I. Watts.
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8. Lax; not costive; having lax bowels. Locke.
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9. Dissolute; unchaste; as, “a loose man or woman”.
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Loose ladies in delight. Spenser.
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10. Containing or consisting of obscene or unchaste language; as, “a loose epistle”. Dryden.
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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.
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Loose, n.
1. Freedom from restraint. [Obs.] Prior.
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2. A letting go; discharge. B. Jonson.
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To give a loose, to give freedom.
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Vent all its griefs, and give a loose to sorrow. Addison.
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Loose (lo͞os), v. n. [imp. & p. p. Loosed (lo͞ost); p. pr. & vb. n. Loosing.] [From Loose, a.]
1. To untie or unbind; to free from any fastening; to remove the shackles or fastenings of; to set free; to relieve.
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Canst thou . . . loose the bands of Orion ? Job. xxxviii. 31.
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Ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her; loose them, and bring them unto me. Matt. xxi. 2.
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2. To release from anything obligatory or burdensome; to disengage; hence, to absolve; to remit.
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Art thou loosed from a wife ? seek not a wife. 1 Cor. vii. 27.
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Whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Matt. xvi. 19.
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3. To relax; to loosen; to make less strict.
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The joints of his loins were loosed. Dan. v. 6.
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4. To solve; to interpret. [Obs.] Spenser.
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Loose, v. i. To set sail. [Obs.] Acts xiii. 13.
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