Antonyms for loose

Grammar : Adj

Spell : loos

Phonetic Transcription : lus

Definition of 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).

adj not tight; unconstrained
adj indefinite, vague
adj promiscuous

Example sentences :

Their outburst of melody is like a brook let loose from wintry chains.
Extract from : « Buds and Bird Voices (From "Mosses From An Old Manse") » by Nathaniel Hawthorne

And yet it was a coward's blow, and one to stir the blood and loose the tongue of the most peaceful.
Extract from : « The White Company » by Arthur Conan Doyle

As might be expected in a first essay, the drawing is now over-minute, now too loose.
Extract from : « The Man Shakespeare » by Frank Harris

He won eighty dollars, and thrust it loose in his trousers pocket.
Extract from : « K » by Mary Roberts Rinehart

The loose, flowing robe of her daily wear is of classic grace and dignity.
Extract from : « The Bacillus of Beauty » by Harriet Stark

He struck the horse over the flank with the loose end of the halter rein.
Extract from : « In the Midst of Alarms » by Robert Barr

"He stepped on a loose stone and turned his foot," Halson explained.
Extract from : « Quaint Courtships » by Various

Whose windows, he demanded, were safe when, a fellow like that was let loose on the town?
Extract from : « The Foolish Lovers » by St. John G. Ervine

He remained behind, and paid the cabman out of his own loose silver.
Extract from : « The Secret Agent » by Joseph Conrad

Being captain of the forecastle, I knew where to find it, and throw it loose at a jerk.
Extract from : « Ned Myers » by James Fenimore Cooper

Synonyms for loose

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