different between tighten vs untighten

English

Etymology

Equivalent to tight +? -en. From Middle English tighten, from Old English tyhtan.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?ta?.t?n/
• Rhymes: -a?t?n
• Homophones: titan, Titan

Verb

tighten (third-person singular simple present tightens, present participle tightening, simple past and past participle tightened)

1. (transitive) To make tighter.
   • 1760, Francis Fawkes, Works of Anacreon, Sappho, Bion, Moschus, and Musæus translated into English by a gentleman of Cambridge

     Just where I please, with tighten;d rein / I'll urge thee round the dusty plain.

2. (intransitive) To become tighter.

3. (economics) To make money harder to borrow or obtain.

4. (economics) To raise short-term interest rates.

Antonyms

• (make tighter): loosen

Derived terms

Related terms

• tight

Translations

Anagrams

• tingeth

English

Etymology

un- +? tighten

Verb

untighten (third-person singular simple present untightens, present participle untightening, simple past and past participle untightened)

1. (transitive) To loosen; to make something less tight.