To be ‘relaxed’ is to become calm and happy, not stiff or tense.
When you relax, you ‘unwind’.
Imagine a ball of wool, wrapped tightly around itself, all the strands are pulled tight.
Now imagine unwinding it, slowly releasing the tension…the wool becomes ‘relaxed’…
But what about ‘chilled’?
Well, to ‘chill out’ is to relax completely, so it’s stronger than simply being ‘relaxed’.
“She sat in a comfy chair and chilled out.”
Lucky her.
Perhaps it’s part of her overall approach to life.
“You’ll find her easy to get on with, she’s a chill/ed woman.”
Annoyingly, it can also sometimes be used as a command.
“Please stop worrying and chill out!”
This does not show concern for the person doing the worrying, you just want them to stop annoying you.
Needless to say, such an expression is often met with: “Chill out yourself, grouchbag!*”
* Informal word for a miserable person, composed of ‘grouch’ meaning an angry, moaning person and ‘bag’, which is often added to the end of mild insults, for example ‘ratbag’.
To be ‘relaxed’ is to become calm and happy, not stiff or tense.
When you relax, you ‘unwind’.
Imagine a ball of wool, wrapped tightly around itself, all the strands are pulled tight.
Now imagine unwinding it, slowly releasing the tension…the wool becomes ‘relaxed’…
But what about ‘chilled’?
Well, to ‘chill out’ is to relax completely, so it’s stronger than simply being ‘relaxed’.
“She sat in a comfy chair and chilled out.”
Lucky her.
Perhaps it’s part of her overall approach to life.
“You’ll find her easy to get on with, she’s a chill/ed woman.”
Annoyingly, it can also sometimes be used as a command.
“Please stop worrying and chill out!”
This does not show concern for the person doing the worrying, you just want them to stop annoying you.
Needless to say, such an expression is often met with: “Chill out yourself, grouchbag!*”
* Informal word for a miserable person, composed of ‘grouch’ meaning an angry, moaning person and ‘bag’, which is often added to the end of mild insults, for example ‘ratbag’.
