laxity
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of laxity
First recorded in 1520–30, laxity is from the Latin word laxitās wideness, openness. See lax, -ity
Explanation
Laxity is a tendency of being too easy-going, or not strict enough. If your teacher doesn't punish her math class for climbing out the classroom windows, she may be accused of laxity. A government's laxity with regulations can result in big companies taking advantage of the situation. Likewise, a babysitter's laxity with his young charges can result in mayhem, or at the very least an extremely late bedtime. A physical kind of laxity is a literal looseness, especially of muscles and ligaments: "If you over-stretch before your run, your muscles' laxity can harm your joints." The Latin root is laxus, "loose."
Vocabulary lists containing laxity
The Things They Carried
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"Letter from Birmingham Jail" by Martin Luther King, Jr.
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The Poisonwood Bible
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Simple things like the way your body disperses fat, aging, or skin laxity can create asymmetry.
From Slate • Feb. 22, 2026
“Constant squinting, reduced blinking and rubbing the eyes due to eyestrain can accelerate laxity and puffiness.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 1, 2026
Prison staff who went on strike in protest told the BBC how laxity inside jails was undermining morale and presenting a growing security risk.
From BBC • Apr. 17, 2025
As it turned out, of course, Lee’s stabbing death seems to have had nothing to do with street crime or prosecutorial laxity or coddled criminals or “repeat violent offenders.”
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 19, 2023
I think he couldn’t stand the laxity around us.
From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
