laxity
nounUK /ˈlaksɪti/
Etymology Borrowed from Middle French laxité, itself borrowed from Latin laxitas, laxitatem, from laxus. By surface analysis, lax + -ity.
1
The state of being lax; looseness, lack of tension.
2
Moral looseness; lack of rigorousness or strictness.
- In these days of laxity, and anythingism in religion, even those of whom we might hope better things do not appear exercised, with the apostle Paul, to have always a conscience void of offence towards God and towards men.1880, The Gospel standard, or Feeble Christian's support:
- It is no accident that capital punishment is reentering our society on the wave of the conservative reaction to the permissiveness and laxity of the past two decades.1981 April 5, Theodore Solotaroff, “REVIVING THE ANCIENT ART OF EXECUTION”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 22 Sep 2025:
- Derived terms
- hyperlaxity, patholaxity