LOOSENESS

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does looseness mean? 

• LOOSENESS (noun)
  The noun LOOSENESS has 6 senses:

1. frequent and watery bowel movements; can be a symptom of infection or food poisoning or colitis or a gastrointestinal tumor

2. freedom from restraint

3. a lack of strict accuracy; laxity of practice

4. the quality of movability by virtue of being free from attachment or other restraints

5. movement or space for movement

6. dissolute indulgence in sensual pleasure

  Familiarity information: LOOSENESS used as a noun is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• LOOSENESS (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Frequent and watery bowel movements; can be a symptom of infection or food poisoning or colitis or a gastrointestinal tumor

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

diarrhea; diarrhoea; looseness; looseness of the bowels

Hypernyms ("looseness" is a kind of...):

symptom ((medicine) any sensation or change in bodily function that is experienced by a patient and is associated with a particular disease)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "looseness"):

the shits; the trots (obscene terms for diarrhea)

Montezuma's revenge (diarrhea contracted in Mexico or Central America)

Holonyms ("looseness" is a part of...):

dysentery (an infection of the intestines marked by severe diarrhea)

Derivation:

loose (emptying easily or excessively)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Freedom from restraint

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Context example:

the flexibility and looseness of the materials from which mythology is made

Hypernyms ("looseness" is a kind of...):

unrestraint (the quality of lacking restraint)

Derivation:

loose (lacking a sense of restraint or responsibility)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A lack of strict accuracy; laxity of practice

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Context example:

misunderstandings can often be traced to a looseness of expression

Hypernyms ("looseness" is a kind of...):

inaccuracy (the quality of being inaccurate and having errors)

Derivation:

loose (not literal)

Sense 4

Meaning:

The quality of movability by virtue of being free from attachment or other restraints

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Hypernyms ("looseness" is a kind of...):

movability; movableness (the quality of being movable; capable of being moved or rearranged)

Antonym:

fixedness (the quality of being fixed in place as by some firm attachment)

Derivation:

loose (not affixed)

loose (not compact or dense in structure or arrangement)

loose (not tight; not closely constrained or constricted or constricting)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Movement or space for movement

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

looseness; play

Context example:

there was too much play in the steering wheel

Hypernyms ("looseness" is a kind of...):

movability; movableness (the quality of being movable; capable of being moved or rearranged)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "looseness"):

wiggliness (a jerky back and forth kind of mobility)

slack; slackness (the quality of being loose (not taut))

Antonym:

tightness (lack of movement or room for movement)

Derivation:

loose (not tense or taut)

Sense 6

Meaning:

Dissolute indulgence in sensual pleasure

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

dissipation; dissolution; licentiousness; looseness; profligacy

Hypernyms ("looseness" is a kind of...):

intemperance; intemperateness; self-indulgence (excess in action and immoderate indulgence of bodily appetites, especially in passion or indulgence)

Derivation:

loose (casual and unrestrained in sexual behavior)

 Context examples 

Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAMA) Gastrointestinal symptoms; difficulty swallowing, wind abdominal pain, burning sensations, abdominal fullness, nausea, vomiting, borborygmi, looseness of bowels, loss of weight, constipation.

(HAMA - Gastrointestinal Symptoms, NCI Thesaurus)

Then he had to talk, to hear what was said to him and what was said back and forth, and to answer, when it was necessary, with a tongue prone to looseness of speech that required a constant curb.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)