Antonyms for hang loose

Grammar : Adj, verb

Spell : hang

Phonetic Transcription : hæŋ

Definition of hang loose

Origin : early 13c., "not securely fixed;" c.1300, "unbound," from Old Norse lauss "loose, free, vacant, dissolute," cognate with Old English leas "devoid of, false, feigned, incorrect," from Proto-Germanic *lausaz (cf. Danish løs "loose, untied," Swedish lös "loose, movable, detached," Middle Dutch, German los "loose, free," Gothic laus "empty, vain"), from PIE *leu- "to loosen, divide, cut apart" (see lose). Meaning "not clinging, slack" is mid-15c. Meaning "not bundled" is late 15c. Sense of "unchaste, immoral" is recorded from late 15c. Meaning "at liberty, free from obligation" is 1550s. Sense of "rambling, disconnected" is from 1680s. Figurative sense of loose cannon was in use by 1896, probably from celebrated image in a popular story by Hugo:
You can reason with a bull dog, astonish a bull, fascinate a boa, frighten a tiger, soften a lion; no resource with such a monster as a loose cannon. You cannot kill it, it is dead; and at the same time it lives. It lives with a sinister life which comes from the infinite. It is moved by the ship, which is moved by the sea, which is moved by the wind. This exterminator is a plaything. [Victor Hugo, "Ninety Three"]
Loose end in reference to something unfinished, undecided, unguarded is from 1540s; to be at loose ends is from 1807. Phrase on the loose "free, unrestrained" is from 1749 (upon the loose).

As in relaxed : adj easygoing
As in easygoing : adj complacent, permissive
As in kick back : verb relax
As in abate : verb lessen, grow or cause to grow less
As in loll : verb lay sprawled
As in relax : verb be or feel at ease

Example sentences :

These are bent like a Sickle, and hang loose as if by a Joint.
Extract from : « A New Voyage to Carolina » by John Lawson

He then left the first series to hang loose while he shortened the fresh-spun ones as before.
Extract from : « Insect Architecture » by James Rennie

The women, and indeed some of the men, suffer their hair to hang loose on their shoulders.
Extract from : « Travels in North America, From Modern Writers » by William Bingley

They have never had occasion to know; they have had no experience with strings that hang loose and unravel in the wind.
Extract from : « Ways of Nature » by John Burroughs

The Mojave men usually twist or plait it, while with the women it is allowed to hang loose.
Extract from : « The Works of Hubert Howe Bancroft, Volume 1 » by Hubert Howe Bancroft

I should damp it and brush it well, and then tie it back so that it would not hang loose over your shoulders like a mane.
Extract from : « A College Girl » by Mrs. George de Horne Vaizey

Chilian liked the little girl's to hang loose, and now it was down to her waist.
Extract from : « A Little Girl in Old Salem » by Amanda Minnie Douglas

To unfurl them, and let them hang loose to dry; or the movement preparatory to "making sail."
Extract from : « The Sailor's Word-Book » by William Henry Smyth

In cinching up, be sure you know your animal; some puff themselves out so that in five minutes the cinch will hang loose.
Extract from : « Camp and Trail » by Stewart Edward White

All the officers, the Emperor also, in uniform, and wearing those long German sabres that hang loose and make a great clatter.
Extract from : « Letters of a Diplomat's Wife » by Mary King Waddington

Synonyms for hang loose

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019