Wednesday, 7 October 2015

What is the difference between loosen and unloosen?

None, or almost none.

 

There are two different prefixes here.

 

The familiar one means "not": unhappy, unfair, unusual, unseen.

 

The other prefix is rarer. I'll quote the American Heritage Dictionary, 4th edition:

1. To reverse or undo the result of a specified action: unbind.

2a. To deprive of or remove a specified thing: unfrock.

b. To release, free, or remove from: unyoke.

3. Used as an intensive: unloose.

 

from https://www.quora.com/Semantics/What-is-the-difference-between-loosen-and-unloosen

No comments: