lax
LAKSadjMeaning not strict or careful enough; loose
Memory hook reLAXed: too relaxed to do the job. The guard is so relaxed that he naps in his chair while the dog helps himself to the cookies. That careless guard is lax.
Security at the cookie jar was lax, and the dog took full advantage.
In context The inspector blamed the leak on lax maintenance: no one had checked the pipes in years, and the warning light had been ignored for months.
Similar slack, loose, careless, easygoing
Opposite strict, rigorous, careful
From Latin laxus, “loose, slack,” the same root as relax.