Casualise

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To make an event, activity, or dress code less formal and more relaxed
2. To reduce the formality or official nature of a situation, making it more laid-back
3. To shift something from a formal state toward a more informal or casual style

Etymology: "Casualise" is a straightforward formation: the adjective "casual" with the verb-forming suffix "-ise" (or "-ize" in American spelling), meaning "to make casual." The suffix has a long pedigree. It descends from ancient Greek "-izein," which gave verbs like "baptizein" ("to baptise"), and it passed into Latin as "-izare," then into Old French and Middle English as "-isen," before settling into the modern English form. Its job is simply to turn an adjective into a verb of making something that way. The adjective "casual" itself came into English from Old French "casuel," meaning "accidental" or "chance," ultimately from Latin "casualis," from "casus," "a fall" or "occurrence." So the core idea of "casual" is something that happens by falling out, by chance, rather than by design. That sense of unplanned or unforced behaviour is what "casualise" carries when it describes an event or dress code being relaxed and less formal.

Synonyms: make casual, relax, simplify

Antonyms: formalize, stricten, intensify