slacken
Americanverb (used with or without object)
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slackens,
present (3rd person singular)
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slackened,
past participle, past
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slackening
present participle
verb
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to make or become looser
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to make or become slower, less intense, etc
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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slackensimple
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slackenssimple
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have slackenedperfect
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has slackenedperfect
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am slackeningprogressive
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are slackeningprogressive
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is slackeningprogressive
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have been slackeningperfect progressive
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has been slackeningperfect progressive
Past
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slackenedsimple
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had slackenedperfect
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was slackeningprogressive
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were slackeningprogressive
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had been slackeningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of slacken
Explanation
To slacken is to loosen the tension on or tightness of something. If you slacken the clothesline any more, the clothes will be on the ground next time you hang out the wash. Slacken, in the "to loosen" sense, can also be used figuratively. Because you have been so responsible, we're going to slacken the rules about curfew on non-school nights and let you stay out an hour later. Slacken also means to slow down or make less active. If you are in a sprint race, you won't want to slacken your pace until after you cross the finish line or you might not win.
Vocabulary lists containing slacken
"All Summer in a Day" by Ray Bradbury
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Excerpt from "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
You absolutely must allow your lower face to slacken naturally, which may be right around the moment Kardashian parts her artificially plumped lips to make a heroic attempt at acting.
From Salon ● Nov. 6, 2025
The onions will slacken and sweeten over indirect heat while he assembles the rest.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2025
The report cautioned that it is too early to determine what caused the rate to slacken.
From BBC ● Dec. 11, 2024
But there is little indication that as the weeks pass, Merchan will let the pace slacken.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 22, 2024
Demand for oil began to slacken significantly in 1982, and the result was a glut.
From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger
The eight-speed transmission shuffles up to overdrive as soon as the throttle pressure slackens.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
The problem is that the birth-death model tends to exaggerate job creation at turning points in the economy — when growth accelerates or when it slackens off.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 12, 2025
That’s fitting enough; you’re meant to feel the noose tighten around each character’s neck in turn, though sometimes the tension slackens and the story threatens to collapse under the weight of its many convolutions.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 16, 2023
“By the time that happens, it’s just that much harder to compromise. It’s become a hot war at that point, and the desire for compromise slackens as a result.”
From Washington Post ● Jun. 19, 2022
Her grip on her purse slackens and her neck makes a nice curve.
From "Jazz" by Toni Morrison
Lower gas prices largely explained the tame readings on wholesale prices in the past two months, but the cost of other key commodities have also slackened.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026
One of the problems defense stocks have faced was a rotation into other sectors as fighting in the Middle East slackened.
From Barron's ● Apr. 24, 2026
Growth in the US slowed at the end of last year, as consumer spending slackened and the federal government shut down.
From BBC ● Feb. 20, 2026
“Consumers and businesses endured another difficult quarter as higher taxes and heightened uncertainty triggered a renewed reluctance to spend, invest and trade, while government spending slackened unexpectedly,” said Suren Thiru, economics director at the ICAEW.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 13, 2025
I watched out of the corner of my eyes, but I never slackened the strokes of my chamois upon the brass.
From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright
The disconnect between slackening activity and the increasing yield has mystified even oil chieftains.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 17, 2026
The central bank is trying to shore up a slackening U.S. jobs market while ensuring inflation doesn’t get out of hand again.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2025
Retail sales also fell last month, while firms from Walmart to Delta Air Lines have warned of slackening demand.
From BBC ● Mar. 18, 2025
And as “Coup” shows, he has finally become something non-controversial, at least up on screen: an artist slackening into repetition and mild inconsequence.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 5, 2024
His grip on the goblet was slackening; the potion was about to spill from it.
From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
