loosely

adverb

loose·​ly ˈlüs-lē 

: in a loose manner

loosely attached

a collection of loosely connected stories

His shoes are set tidily together in a corner with his socks draped loosely across them.

—Felix Carroll

Texting freed a generation from the strictures and inconvenience (and awkwardness) of phone calls, while allowing people to be more loosely and constantly connected.

—Jenna Wortham

The novel is loosely based on the life of Georgia O'Keeffe.

Loosely translated from Japanese, umami means delicious or yummy.

—N. Seppa

Examples of loosely in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Writer and director Laura Nicholson, whose parents are big-screen icon Jack Nicholson and actress Rebecca Broussard, based the story loosely on her childhood experiences at the Playboy Mansion, according to Deadline. — Theresa Braine, New York Daily News, 8 Oct. 2026

In any case, Animals lifts most of its foundational plot elements directly from that source, which was loosely adapted from an Ed McBain novel. — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 8 Oct. 2026

In the history of television, may be the only sitcom based loosely on the work of Carl Jung. — Chuck Lorre, Vanity Fair, 7 Oct. 2026

This weekend, the production company founded by Jeremy Garelick released Rolling Loud, a comedy starring Matt Rife and Owen Wilson that is loosely inspired by Garelick’s experience losing his 13-year-old son at the eponymous hip-hop festival. — Matt Grobar, Deadline, 5 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing loosely

• broadly/loosely define
• loosely base on

Rhymes for loosely

• diffusely
• obtusely
• profusely