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laxness

laxness

1 6.8
Lack of care in following rules that causes problems
  • noun
  • /ˈlæksnəs/
translation icon : laxitud
  • The French refugees came to New York from a society where the Catholic Church was wealthy, influenced by the ideas of the Enlightenment, and often corrupt, creating a certain laxness concerning religion.

Examples

  • As an example of laxness of standards, I'm reminded of a recent article about the individual who failed the teacher's exam twelve times since he received his City College education degree in 1994.

    Academic text (2001)
  • First, there has been a noticeable laxness in appearance in this hospital.

  • And how your continual need... to endow this creature with human traits has led to the laxness of its security protocols.

  • The U.S. reasoned it was best that the costs of subsequent corrections for past laxness be borne by society as a whole through general tax revenues.

    Academic text (1992)
  • I quite agree with Sida's point about the injustice to readers, and I feel that what makes it worse is that not only was there no effort made to cite sources, but there was a laxness with fact-checking.

    Blog text (5)
  • The teacher was concerned about the students' laxness in completing their assignments on time.

  • Many criticized the laxness of safety protocols that allowed the accident to happen.

  • The report highlighted the laxness in regulations that led to environmental damage.

Synonyms

neglect
vslaxness
100 3.5

Not caring for someone or something that needs care

describes the overall quality of lacking strictness and attention
laxity
vslaxness
3 8.3

A lack of strict rules or care that lets mistakes happen

is the general term for that same state of negligence
looseness
vslaxness
1 5.3

A lack of strictness or exactness in how something is done

applies to moral or duty negligence rather than measurement imprecision
slackness
vslaxness
1 6.1

A lack of care or strictness in work

emphasizes the ongoing quality of being negligent rather than occasional
neglectfulness
vslaxness
6.3

Not giving needed care and attention to responsibilities or people

frames the same issue as a broader lack of strictness and care
remissness
vslaxness
  • Formal
8.6

A lack of care when doing important work that causes problems

expresses general lack of strictness and attention, not only duties
laxism
vslaxness
9.9

Not being strict about rules or what is right and wrong

describes the same lack of strictness but as a neutral quality

Antonyms

60 4.1

Careful, steady work that helps you reach a goal

3 3.4

Being very firm about rules and making people follow them

1 2.1

Paying close attention to avoid mistakes or harm

How Careful

diligence
60 4.1
negligence
  • Specialized
80 6.5
laxness
1 6.8
carelessness
16 2.8

Surface Forms

laxness singular
laxnesses plural

Morphology

laxness = lax (transparent) = lax + ness

A regular noun formed from the adjective 'lax' with the productive suffix '-ness' indicating a state or quality.

Etymology

The word laxness comes from the Latin laxus, which means 'loose'. Think of relax (to make loose): when rules, work, or care are 'loose' they are not strict, so laxness means carelessness or not enough attention.