slow

A1 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /sloʊ/ UK /sləʊ/ See IPA manual

Freq #1042

Meanings

1

adj
Not moving or happening quickly.

The traffic was very slow this morning.
2

verb
To make or become slower.

The car slowed as it approached the corner.
3

adj
Showing a time earlier than the real time.

My watch is five minutes slow.
4

adj
Not busy or active.

Business is always slow in the winter.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

2 verb · to make or become slower. slow downslow updecelerate

4 adj · not busy or active. dull sluggish

More boring careful cautious crawling creeping deliberate dilatory draggydreichgastropodous glacial

Opposites

abrupt accurate active brisk fast hasty hectic intelligent keen lively precipitate prompt

Word family

Forms slowedslowerslowestslowingslows

Derived forms go-slowhyperslowinfraslowoverslowslo-moslofieslomanslothslow-actingslow-bellyslow-burningslow-cook

Related forms forslow

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

slow dance
a dance performed to slow music, typically in close embrace

Adjective + noun

Proverbs (3)

See all

Etymology

From Middle English slow, slaw, from Old English slāw (“sluggish, inert, slothful, late, tardy, torpid, slow”), from Proto-West Germanic *slaiw, from Proto-Germanic *slaiwaz (“blunt, dull, faint, weak, slack”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *sleyH-u- (“bad”). Cognate with Scots slaw (“slow”), West Frisian sleau (“slow, dull, lazy”), Dutch sleeuw (“blunt, dull”), Low German slee (“dull, sluggish”), German schlehe, schleh (“dull, exhausted, faint”), Danish sløv (“dull, torpid, drowsy”), Swedish slö (“slack, lazy”), Icelandic sljór (“dim-witted, slow”).

slow Middle English slāw Old English *slaiw Proto-West Germanic *slaiwaz Proto-Germanic *(s)leyH- Proto-Indo-European

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Topics

Describing Qualities

External links

# slow

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A1
**Part of speech:** adj, verb
**IPA (US):** /sloʊ/
**IPA (UK):** /sləʊ/
**Frequency rank:** 1042

## Meanings
1. Not moving or happening quickly.
2. To make or become slower.
3. Showing a time earlier than the real time.
4. Not busy or active.

## Examples
- The traffic was very slow this morning.
- The car slowed as it approached the corner.
- My watch is five minutes slow.
- Business is always slow in the winter.

## Synonyms
- boring
- careful
- cautious
- crawling
- creeping
- deliberate
- dilatory
- draggy
- dreich
- dull
- gastropodous
- glacial

## Antonyms
- abrupt
- accurate
- active
- brisk
- fast
- hasty
- hectic
- intelligent
- keen
- lively
- precipitate
- prompt

## Derived Forms
- go-slow
- hyperslow
- infraslow
- overslow
- slo-mo
- slofie
- sloman
- sloth
- slow-acting
- slow-belly
- slow-burning
- slow-cook

## Related Forms
- forslow

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: slow
- Root: slāw
- Root: *slaiw
- Root: *slaiwaz
- Root: *(s)leyH-

## Etymology
From Middle English slow, slaw, from Old English slāw (“sluggish, inert, slothful, late, tardy, torpid, slow”), from Proto-West Germanic *slaiw, from Proto-Germanic *slaiwaz (“blunt, dull, faint, weak, slack”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *sleyH-u- (“bad”). Cognate with Scots slaw (“slow”), West Frisian sleau (“slow, dull, lazy”), Dutch sleeuw (“blunt, dull”), Low German slee (“dull, sluggish”), German schlehe, schleh (“dull, exhausted, faint”), Danish sløv (“dull, torpid, drowsy”), Swedish slö (“slack, lazy”), Icelandic sljór (“dim-witted, slow”).

## AI Etymology
Slow is from Middle English slow, slaw, from Old English slāw (“sluggish, inert, slothful, late, tardy, torpid, slow”), from Proto-West Germanic *slaiw, from Proto-Germanic *slaiwaz (“blunt, dull, faint, weak, slack”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *sleyH-u- (“bad”). Cognate with Scots slaw (“slow”), West Frisian sleau (“slow, dull, lazy”), Dutch sleeuw (“blunt, dull”), Low German slee (“dull, sluggish”), German schlehe, schleh (“dull, exhausted, faint”), Danish sløv (“dull, torpid, drowsy”), Swedish slö (“slack, lazy”), Icelandic sljór (“dim-witted, slow”). Important forms in the word's history include Middle English slow, Old English slāw, Proto-West Germanic *slaiw, Proto-Germanic *slaiwaz, Proto-Indo-European *(s)leyH-. In current use it includes senses such as Not moving or happening quickly and To make or become slower.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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