SLACKEN

slacken, remit

(verb) make slack as by lessening tension or firmness

slacken

(verb) become looser or slack; “the rope slackened”

slow, slow down, slow up, slack, slacken

(verb) become slow or slower; “Production slowed”

slack, slacken, slack up, relax

(verb) make less active or fast; “He slackened his pace as he got tired”; “Don’t relax your efforts now”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Verb

slacken (third-person singular simple present slackens, present participle slackening, simple past and past participle slackened)

(intransitive) To gradually decrease in intensity or tautness; to become slack.

(transitive) To make slack, less taut, or less intense.

To deprive of cohesion by combining chemically with water; to slake.

Anagrams

• cankles, snackle

Source: Wiktionary


Slack, Slack"en, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Slacked, Slackened (; p. pr. & vb. n. Slacking, Slackening.] Etym: [See Slack, a.]

1. To become slack; to be made less tense, firm, or rigid; to decrease in tension; as, a wet cord slackens in dry weather.

2. To be remiss or backward; to be negligent.

3. To lose cohesion or solidity by a chemical combination with water; to slake; as, lime slacks.

4. To abate; to become less violent. Whence these raging fires Will slacken, if his breath stir not their flames. Milton.

5. To lose rapidity; to become more slow; as, a current of water slackens.

6. To languish; to fail; to flag.

7. To end; to cease; to desist; to slake. [Obs.] That through your death your lineage should slack. Chaucer. They will not of that firste purpose slack. Chaucer.

Slack, Slack"en, v. t.

1. To render slack; to make less tense or firm; as, to slack a rope; to slacken a bandage. Wycklif (Acts xxvii. 40)

2. To neglect; to be remiss in. [Obs.] Shak. Slack not the pressage. Dryden.

3. To deprive of cohesion by combining chemically with water; to slake; as, to slack lime.

4. To cause to become less eager; to repress; to make slow or less rapid; to retard; as, to slacken pursuit; to slacken industry. "Rancor for to slack." Chaucer. I should be grieved, young prince, to think my presence Unbent your thoughts, and slackened 'em to arms. Addison. In this business of growing rich, poor men should slack their pace. South. With such delay Well plased, they slack their course. Milton.

5. To cause to become less intense; to mitigate; to abate; to ease. To respite, or deceive, or slack thy pain Of this ill mansion. Milton. Air-slacked lime, lime slacked by exposure to the air, in consequence of the absorption of carton dioxide and water, by which it is converted into carbonate of lime and hydrate of lime.

Slack"en, n. (Metal.)

Definition: A spongy, semivitrifled substance which miners or smelters mix with the ores of metals to prevent their fusion. [Written also slakin.]

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

2 April 2025

COVERT

(adjective) secret or hidden; not openly practiced or engaged in or shown or avowed; “covert actions by the CIA”; “covert funding for the rebels”


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Coffee Trivia

The earliest credible evidence of coffee-drinking as the modern beverage appeared in modern-day Yemen. In the middle of the 15th century in Sufi shrines where coffee seeds were first roasted and brewed for drinking. The Yemenis procured the coffee beans from the Ethiopian Highlands.

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