slacken

C2+ Topic:Cause, Change & Process

US /ˈslækən/ UK /ˈslækən/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

verb
to make or become slower, looser, or less intense

He slackened the rope to let the boat drift closer.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to make or become slower,... loosen relax ease abate slow diminish lessen

Opposites

tighten intensify quicken accelerate

Word family

Related forms slackslacknessslacker

Etymology

From slack (from Old English slæc 'loose, lazy', of Germanic origin) plus the verb-forming suffix -en.

slæc Old English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Cause, Change & Process Actions & Processes Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# slacken

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈslækən/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈslækən/

## Meanings
1. to make or become slower, looser, or less intense

## Examples
- He slackened the rope to let the boat drift closer.

## Synonyms
- loosen
- relax
- ease
- abate
- slow
- diminish
- lessen

## Antonyms
- tighten
- intensify
- quicken
- accelerate

## Related Forms
- slack
- slackness
- slacker

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: slæc

## Etymology
From slack (from Old English slæc 'loose, lazy', of Germanic origin) plus the verb-forming suffix -en.

## AI Etymology
Slacken comes from slack (from Old English slæc 'loose, lazy', of Germanic origin) plus the verb-forming suffix -en. The historical chain includes Old English slæc. The quoted older sense, "loose, lazy," supplies the immediate semantic anchor for slacken. The formation is best read as suffixal and borrowed: the word slacken carries its older form-history into a compact English lexical shape. In present English it is used as a verb, "to make or become slower, looser, or less intense". Related English forms include slack, slackness, and slacker. The result is a verb whose etymology preserves both the older form and the later English specialization.

## Topics
- Cause, Change & Process
- Actions & Processes
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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