tighten
WordReference English Thesaurus © 2025
Sense: Verb: become tighter
Synonyms:
become tighter, get tighter, constrict, contract Collocations, clench Collocations, tense Collocations, tense up, tauten, become taut
Antonyms:
relax Collocations, melt Collocations, ease off, loosen up, come loose, give Collocations, expand Collocations, blow up, balloon Collocations, slacken, loosen, decompress
Sense: Verb: make tighter
Synonyms:
tauten, make sth taut, draw sth taut, constrict, contract Collocations, compress, squeeze Collocations
Antonyms:
loosen, decompress, unscrew, open Collocations, release Collocations, slacken, untie, unbind, unfasten
Sense: Verb: make rules stricter
Synonyms:
tighten up, toughen up, toughen, take a stricter approach to, make sth more stringent, make sth more rigorous, make sth more rigid, crack down