sleek

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /slik/ UK /sliːk/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
smooth and glossy; elegantly streamlined

The sleek sports car drew admiring glances.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · smooth and glossy;... smooth glossystreamlinedlustrous polished slick

Opposites

rough coarsefrizzyunkempt

Word family

Forms sleekly

Derived forms sleeklysleekness

Related forms slick

Appears in

Tongue twisters (1)

See all

Six Slick Saplings
Six slick slim slippery slimy sleek slender sickly saplings.

Keep /sl/ together through slick, slim, slippery, slimy, sleek and slender. The start changes to /s/ without /l/ in sickly and saplings.

Simplified etymology

Sleek arose in late Middle English as a variant of slick, a Germanic word originally meaning “glossy.”

Etymology

A variant of slick, from Middle English sliken ('to make smooth'), from Old English -slician, of Germanic origin.

slician Old English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

External links

# sleek

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /slik/
**IPA (UK):** /sliːk/

## Meanings
1. smooth and glossy; elegantly streamlined

## Examples
- The sleek sports car drew admiring glances.

## Synonyms
- smooth
- glossy
- streamlined
- lustrous
- polished
- slick

## Antonyms
- rough
- coarse
- frizzy
- unkempt

## Derived Forms
- sleekly
- sleekness

## Related Forms
- slick

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: slician

## Etymology
A variant of slick, from Middle English sliken ('to make smooth'), from Old English -slician, of Germanic origin.

## AI Etymology
Sleek is a variant of slick, from Middle English sliken ('to make smooth'), from Old English -slician, of Germanic origin. The form is best read as a historical transfer or inheritance, with its older language material carrying the main semantic load. As an adjective and verb, it carries the sense "smooth and glossy; elegantly streamlined", with the older formation still helping explain the modern use. Relevant historical forms include Old English slician. Derivative forms include sleekly, sleekness; related words include slick.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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