Antonyms of verb relax

2 of 8 senses of relax

Sense 1
relax, loosen up, unbend, unwind, decompress, slow down -- (become less tense, rest, or take one's ease; "He relaxed in the hot tub"; "Let's all relax after a hard day's work")
       Antonym of tense (Sense 3)
      => tense, tense up -- (become tense, nervous, or uneasy; "He tensed up when he saw his opponent enter the room")

Sense 4
relax, unstrain, unlax, loosen up, unwind, make relaxed -- (cause to feel relaxed; "A hot bath always relaxes me")
       Antonym of tense (Sense 4)
      => tense, strain, tense up -- (cause to be tense and uneasy or nervous or anxious; "he got a phone call from his lawyer that tensed him up")

Synonyms/Hypernyms (Ordered by Estimated Frequency) of verb relax

8 senses of relax

Sense 1
relax, loosen up, unbend, unwind, decompress, slow down -- (become less tense, rest, or take one's ease; "He relaxed in the hot tub"; "Let's all relax after a hard day's work")
       => change state, turn -- (undergo a transformation or a change of position or action; "We turned from Socialism to Capitalism"; "The people turned against the President when he stole the election")

Sense 2
relax, unbend -- (make less taut; "relax the tension on the rope")
       => loosen, loose -- (make loose or looser; "loosen the tension on a rope")

Sense 3
loosen, relax, loose -- (become loose or looser or less tight; "The noose loosened"; "the rope relaxed")
       => weaken -- (become weaker; "The prisoner's resistance weakened after seven days")

Sense 4
relax, unstrain, unlax, loosen up, unwind, make relaxed -- (cause to feel relaxed; "A hot bath always relaxes me")
       => affect -- (act physically on; have an effect upon; "the medicine affects my heart rate")

Sense 5
relax, loosen up -- (become less tense, less formal, or less restrained, and assume a friendlier manner; "our new colleague relaxed when he saw that we were a friendly group")
       => act, behave, do -- (behave in a certain manner; show a certain behavior; conduct or comport oneself; "You should act like an adult"; "Don't behave like a fool"; "What makes her do this way?"; "The dog acts ferocious, but he is really afraid of people")

Sense 6
relax, loosen -- (make less severe or strict; "The government relaxed the curfew after most of the rebels were caught")
       => change, alter, modify -- (cause to change; make different; cause a transformation; "The advent of the automobile may have altered the growth pattern of the city"; "The discussion has changed my thinking about the issue")

Sense 7
relax, loosen -- (become less severe or strict; "The rules relaxed after the new director arrived")
       => change -- (undergo a change; become different in essence; losing one's or its original nature; "She changed completely as she grew older"; "The weather changed last night")

Sense 8
slack, slacken, slack up, relax -- (make less active or fast; "He slackened his pace as he got tired"; "Don't relax your efforts now")
       => decrease, lessen, minify -- (make smaller; "He decreased his staff")