loosely
adv/ˈluːsli/
Etymology From Middle English lously; equivalent to loose + -ly.
1
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:
2
Not tightly.
- Insert all the bolts loosely, then tighten them.
3
Approximately.
- 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
1 more example
- 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:
4
Used to indicate an imprecise use of words; short for loosely speaking
- A whale is, loosely, maybe very loosely, a fish.
- Antonyms
- tightly
- Derived terms
- loosely-typed, sit loosely