lax

¹

[laks]

adjective

laxer, laxest 

1. not strict or severe; careless or negligent: a lax attitude toward discipline.

   lax morals;

   a lax attitude toward discipline.

2. loose or slack; not tense, rigid, or firm: a lax handshake.

   a lax rope;

   a lax handshake.

3. not rigidly exact or precise; vague.

   lax ideas.

4. open, loose, or not retentive, as diarrheal bowels.

5. (of a person) having the bowels unusually loose or open.

6. open or not compact; having a loosely cohering structure; porous.

   lax tissue;

   lax texture.

7. Phonetics.,  (of a vowel) articulated with relatively relaxed tongue muscles.

lax

²

[laks]

noun

Informal.

1. lacrosse.

   To handle my course load, I know I have to cut back on extracurricular activities, but no way am I giving up lax.

lax

/ læks /

adjective

1. lacking firmness; not strict

2. lacking precision or definition

3. not taut

4. phonetics (of a speech sound) pronounced with little muscular effort and consequently having relatively imprecise accuracy of articulation and little temporal duration. In English the vowel i in bit is lax

5. (of flower clusters) having loosely arranged parts

Other Word Forms

• laxly adverb
• laxity noun
• laxness noun
• overlax adjective
• overlaxly adverb
• overlaxness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of lax¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin laxus “loose, spacious, wide”; akin to languēre “to be sluggish, faint, unwell”; cognate with Old English slæc slack ¹

Origin of lax²

First recorded in 1970–75; la(crosse) ( def. ) + x ³ ( def. ) “a cross,” (in the sense cross ( def. ), a pun on crosse, the stick used in lacrosse)

Word History and Origins

Origin of lax¹

C14 (originally used with reference to the bowels): from Latin laxus loose

Example Sentences

Among the largest beneficiaries of the state’s lax permitting system was an oil company called Endeavor Energy Resources.

From Salon

In many of those cases, there was at least a provision of the federal Clean Air Act allowing suits against the EPA administrator for lax policing, Nolette said.

From Salon

The move comes after an inquest into four deaths caused by drivers with failing eyesight saw a coroner call the UK's licensing system the "laxest in Europe".

From BBC

More than two decades ago the country experienced what author Helen Gordon described as a "Saharan gold rush", fuelled in part by laxer regulations and a more stable political environment than some of its neighbours.

From BBC

Among the international community, there are fears that lax oversight may help criminals get through their borders.

From BBC

Related Words

• careless 
• indifferent 
• lenient 
• negligent 
• sloppy 
• soft 
• vague