loosely en · ADV
Pronunciation
- (Southern-England) audio
- /ˈluːsli/
Etymology
From Middle English lously; equivalent to loose + -ly.
Meanings
-
In a loose manner.
Then she fell back on the altar and her fingers dangled loosely on its edge, her feet uncrossed and lay beside each other.
1965, Attila Zohar, Kings Cross Black Magic, Sydney: Horwitz Publications, page 32:It was an April Fool hoax, of course. 31200 had been rigged up with a single lightweight wooden [name] plate (loosely held on by Blu Tack).
2024 January 10, Chris Gilson, “RAIL's famous five...”, in RAIL, number 1000, page 27:
-
Not tightly.
Insert all the bolts loosely, then tighten them.
-
Approximately.
It is loosely adapted by John Hodge from Irvine Welsh’s novel Porno which imagined them coming together again 10 years on; this of course is 20.
2017 January 19, Peter Bradshaw, “T2 Trainspotting review – choose a sequel that doesn't disappoint”, in The Guardian:It's red, to use the term loosely, sort of brown and sort of orange, let's call it reddish.
a comic loosely based on an Old Norse epic
-
Used to indicate an imprecise use of words; short for loosely speaking
A whale is, loosely, maybe very loosely, a fish.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| more loosely | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic | |
| most loosely | Degree=Sup | lexicographic |
Antonyms
tightly (antonym(s) of “not tightly”)
Deriveds
Synonyms
sort of · fornigh · kind of · imprecisely · just about · roughly · some · all but · virtually · around · ± · near · give or take · roundly · close to · well-nigh · by and large · nearly · circa · thereabout · for all practical purposes · plus or minus · say · almost · loosely · essentially · approaching · odd · close · -ish · -some · about · nearabout · or so · more or less · nigh on
Translations (16)
io ample (not tightly) · fi löysästi (not tightly) · ru свобо́дно (not tightly) · ca en termes generals (not tightly) · fr sans serrer (not tightly) · ro lejer (not tightly) · hu lazán (in a loose manner) · pl luźno (not tightly) · cs volně (not tightly) · ru без сцепле́ния (not tightly) · nl ruim (not tightly) · ru нежёстко (not tightly) · pt vagamente (used to indicate an imprecise use of words) · ca sense ésser estrictes (not tightly) · it allentato (not tightly) · fi irtonaisesti (not tightly)