Definitions for slacken
ˈslæk ənslack·en

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:4.0 / 1 vote

1. slow, slow down, slow up, slack, slackenverb

   become slow or slower

   "Production slowed"

2. slack, slacken, slack up, relaxverb

   make less active or fast

   "He slackened his pace as he got tired"; "Don't relax your efforts now"

3. slackenverb

   become looser or slack

   "the rope slackened"

4. slacken, remitverb

   make slack as by lessening tension or firmness

WiktionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. slackenverb

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

   The pace slackened.

2. slackenverb

   To make slack, less taut, or less intense.

3. Etymology: * From slæcan

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. To Slack, To Slackenverb

   1. To loosen; to make less tight.

   Ah generous youth, that wish forbear;
   Slack all thy sails, and fear to come. Dryden.

   Had Ajax been employ’d, our slacken’d sails
   Had still at Aulis waited happy gales. Dryden.

   2. To relax; to remit.

   This makes the pulses beat, and lungs respire;
   This holds the sinews like a bridle’s reins,
   And makes the body to advance, retire,
   To turn or stop, as she them slacks or strains. Davies.

   Taught power’s due use to people and to kings,
   Taught nor to slack nor strain its tender strings. Alexander Pope.

   3. To ease; to mitigate. Philips seems to have used it by mistake for slake.

   Men, having been brought up at home under a strict rule of duty, always restrained by sharp penalties from lewd behaviour, so soon as they come thither, where they see laws more slackly tended, and the hard restraint, which they were used unto, now slacked, they grow more loose. Edmund Spenser.

   If there be cure or charm
   To respite or deceive, or slack the pain
   Of this ill mansion. John Milton, Paradise Lost.

   On our account has Jove,
   Indulgent, to all moons some succulent plant
   Allow’d, that poor helpless man might slack
   His present thirst, and matter find for toil. Philips.

   4. To remit for want of eagerness.

   My guards
   Are you, great pow’rs, and th’ unbated strength
   Of a firm conscience; which shall arm each step
   Ta’en for the state, and teach me slack no pace. Ben Jonson.

   With such delay well pleas’d, they slack their course. John Milton.

   5. To cause to be remitted.

   You may sooner by imagination quicken or slack a motion, than raise or cease it; as it is easier to make a dog go slower than make him stand still. Francis Bacon.

   This doctrine must supersede and slacken all industry and endeavour, which is the lowest degree of that which hath been promised to be accepted by Christ; and leave nothing to us to deliberate or attempt, but only to obey our fate. Henry Hammond.

   Extol not riches then, the toil of fools,
   The wise man’s cumbrance, if not snare; more apt
   To slacken virtue, and abate her edge,
   Than prompt her to do aught may merit praise. John Milton.

   Balls of this metal slack’d Atlanta’s pace,
   And on the am’rous youth bestow’d the race. Edmund Waller.

   One conduces to the poet’s aim, which he is driving on in every line: the other slackens his pace, and diverts him from his way. Dryden.

   6. To relieve; to unbend.

   Here have I seen the king, when great affairs
   Gave leave to slacken and unbend his cares,
   Attended to the chase by all the flow’r
   Of youth, whose hopes a nobler prey devour. John Denham.

   7. To with-hold; to use less liberally.

   He that so generally is good, must of necessity hold his virtue to you, whose worthiness would stir it up where it wanted, rather than slack it where there is such abundance. William Shakespeare.

   8. To crumble; to deprive of the power of cohesion.

   Some unslacked lime cover with ashes, and let it stand ’till rain comes to slack the lime; then spread them together. John Mortimer.

   9. To neglect.

   Why might not you, my lord, receive attendance
   From those that she calls servants, or from mine?
   —— If then they chanc’d to slack ye,
   We could controul them. William Shakespeare, King Lear.

   This good chance, that thus much favoureth,
   He slacks not. Samuel Daniel, Civil War.

   Slack not the good presage, while heav’n inspires
   Our minds to dare, and gives the ready fires. Dryden.

   10. To repress; to make less quick or forcible.

   I should be griev’d, young prince, to think my presence
   Unbent your thoughts, and slacken’d ’em to arms. Addison.

2. To Slack, To Slackenverb

   Etymology: from the adjective.

   1. To be remiss; to neglect.

   When thou shalt vow a vow unto the Lord, slack not to pay it. Deutr. xxiii. 21.

   2. To lose the power of cohesion.

   The fire, in lime burnt, lies hid, so that it appears to be cold; but water excites it again, whereby it slacks and crumbles into fine powder. Joseph Moxon, Mech. Exer.

   3. To abate.

   Whence these raging fires
   Will slacken, if his breath stir not their flames. John Milton.

   4.To languish; to fail; to flag. Robert Ainsworth

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. slacken

   In physics, tension is described as the pulling force transmitted axially by the means of a string, a rope, chain, or similar object, or by each end of a rod, truss member, or similar three-dimensional object; tension might also be described as the action-reaction pair of forces acting at each end of said elements. Tension could be the opposite of compression. At the atomic level, when atoms or molecules are pulled apart from each other and gain potential energy with a restoring force still existing, the restoring force might create what is also called tension. Each end of a string or rod under such tension could pull on the object it is attached to, in order to restore the string/rod to its relaxed length. Tension (as a transmitted force, as an action-reaction pair of forces, or as a restoring force) is measured in newtons in the International System of Units (or pounds-force in Imperial units). The ends of a string or other object transmitting tension will exert forces on the objects to which the string or rod is connected, in the direction of the string at the point of attachment. These forces due to tension are also called "passive forces". There are two basic possibilities for systems of objects held by strings: either acceleration is zero and the system is therefore in equilibrium, or there is acceleration, and therefore a net force is present in the system.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. slacken

   To slacken means to make something less tight or firm, to loosen, or to slow down or lessen in intensity. This term can also refer to the action of becoming less vigorous, less stringent or less effective.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Slackenadjective

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

2. Slackenadjective

   to be remiss or backward; to be negligent

3. Slackenadjective

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

4. Slackenadjective

   to abate; to become less violent

5. Slackenadjective

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

6. Slackenadjective

   to languish; to fail; to flag

7. Slackenadjective

   to end; to cease; to desist; to slake

8. Slackenverb

   to render slack; to make less tense or firm; as, to slack a rope; to slacken a bandage

9. Slackenverb

   to neglect; to be remiss in

10. Slackenverb

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

11. Slackenverb

    to cause to become less eager; to repress; to make slow or less rapid; to retard; as, to slacken pursuit; to slacken industry

12. Slackenverb

    to cause to become less intense; to mitigate; to abate; to ease

13. Slackennoun

    a spongy, semivitrifled substance which miners or smelters mix with the ores of metals to prevent their fusion

14. Etymology: [See Slack, a.]

Matched Categories

1. • Decrease
   • Weaken

Anagrams for slacken »

1. cankles

2. snackle

How to pronounce slacken?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

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   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

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   Neerja

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   Oliver

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How to say slacken in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of slacken in Chaldean Numerology is: 4

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of slacken in Pythagorean Numerology is: 2

Examples of slacken in a Sentence

1. Vali Nasr:

   The Taliban may be trying to slacken the resolve of the military by suggesting that there could be a tremendous human costs to the military offensive and create public pressure on the military to back off from this offensive, but it may actually ricochet on them.

2. Meng Qingfeng:

   We must have a long-term battle concept that does not slacken and is persistent.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=slacken
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Slacken
3. ^ Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
   https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=slacken
4. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slacken
5. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
6. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slacken