1. To create loose; to
free from tightness, tension, firmness, or fixedness; to create smaller dense or compact; as, to
loosen a string, or a knot; to
loosen a
rock in the land. "After a year's rooting, then shaking doth the
wood good by loosening of the earth." (Bacon)
2. To
free from restraint; to
set at liberty. "It loosens
his hands, and assists
his understanding." (Dryden)
3. To
remove costiveness from; to facilitate or
magnify the alvine discharges of.
Origin: See Loose.
Source: Websters Vocabulary