Hypertext Webster Gateway: "lax"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Lax \Lax\, n.
A looseness; diarrhea.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Lax \Lax\, a. [Compar. {Laxer}; superl. {Laxest}.] [L. laxus Cf.
{Laches}, {Languish}, {Lease}, v. t., {Leash}.]
1. Not tense, firm, or rigid; loose; slack; as, a lax
bandage; lax fiber.
The flesh of that sort of fish being lax and spongy.
--Ray.
2. Not strict or stringent; not exact; loose; weak; vague;
equivocal.
The discipline was lax. --Macaulay.
Society at that epoch was lenient, if not lax, in
matters of the passions. --J. A.
Symonds.
The word ``[ae]ternus'' itself is sometimes of a lax
signification. --Jortin.
3. Having a looseness of the bowels; diarrheal.
Syn: Loose; slack; vague; unconfined; unrestrained;
dissolute; licentious.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
lax
adj 1: lacking in rigor or strictness; "such lax and slipshod ways
are no longer acceptable"; "lax in attending classes";
"slack in maintaining discipline" [syn: {slack}]
2: (phonetics) pronounced with muscles relatively relaxed
(e.g., the vowel sound in `bet') [ant: {tense}]
3: not taut or rigid; not stretched or held tight; "a lax rope"
[ant: {tense}]
4: lacking in strength or firmness or resilience; "flaccid
muscles"; "took his lax hand in hers"; "gave a limp
handshake"; "a limp gesture as if waving away all desire
to know" G.K.Chesterton; "a slack grip" [syn: {flaccid}, {limp},
{slack}]
5: tolerant or lenient; "indulgent parents risk spoiling their
children"; "procedures are lax and discipline is weak";
"too soft on the children" [syn: {indulgent}, {lenient}, {soft}]
6: emptying easily or excessively; "loose bowels" [syn: {loose}]
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