slake

American  

[sleyk] / sleɪk /

verb (used with object)

slakes, present (3rd person singular) slaked, past participle, past slaking present participle

1. to allay (thirst, desire, wrath, etc.) by satisfying.

   Synonyms:

   relieve, gratify, quench, satisfy

2. to cool or refresh.

   He slaked his lips with ice.

3. to make less active, vigorous, intense, etc..

   His calm manner slaked their enthusiasm.

4. to cause disintegration of (lime) by treatment with water.

5. to moisten; wet.

   To thicken the sauce, add a tablespoon of cornstarch slaked with a little cold water.

6. Obsolete. to make loose or less tense; slacken.

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verb (used without object)

slakes, present (3rd person singular) slaked, past participle, past slaking present participle

1. (of lime) to become slaked.

2. Archaic. to become less active, intense, vigorous, etc.; abate.

slake British  

/ sleɪk /

verb

1. literary (tr) to satisfy (thirst, desire, etc)

2. poetic (tr) to cool or refresh

3. Also: slack.  to undergo or cause to undergo the process in which lime reacts with water or moist air to produce calcium hydroxide

4. archaic to make or become less active or intense

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• unslakable
  adjective
• slakeable
  adjective
• unslaked
  adjective
• slaker
  noun
• slakable
  adjective
• unslakeable
  adjective
• slakeless
  adjective

Conjugated Forms

Present

• has slaked
  perfect 3rd person singular
• have slaked
  perfect
• is slaking
  progressive 3rd person singular
• slakes
  singular 3rd person
• slaking
  participle
• are slaking
  progressive
• has been slaking
  perfect progressive 3rd person singular
• am slaking
  progressive 1st person singular
• have been slaking
  perfect progressive

Past

• had slaked
  perfect
• were slaking
  progressive plural
• slaked
  participle
• was slaking
  progressive singular
• had been slaking
  perfect progressive
• slaked
  simple

Future

• will slake
  simple
• will have slaked
  perfect
• will have been slaking
  perfect progressive
• will be slaking
  progressive

Etymology

Origin of slake

First recorded before 1000; Middle English slaken, slakken, slake “to loosen, lessen, mitigate, allay, moderate,” Old English slacian, slæcian, sleacian “to slacken, lessen one's efforts,” equivalent to slæc “inactive, careless, languid” + -ian causative verb suffix; see origin at slack ¹

Explanation

When you slake something, such as a desire or a thirst, you satisfy it. A big glass of lemonade on a hot summer day will slake your thirst. The word slake traces back to the Old English word slacian, meaning to “become less eager.” If you slake something, like thirst, you become less eager to drink. In other words, you are less thirsty. Like satisfy and quench, close relatives of slake in meaning, the word is used to indicate that a craving is made less intense by getting whatever it is that you crave.

Example Sentences

Slake, slāk, n. a channel through a swamp or morass: slime.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements) by Various

I have no objection to suffering The Lady's Last Slake to be engraved, but, on the contrary, should be happy to do anything which might contribute to add to the reputation of my deceased friend.

From Art in England Notes and Studies by Cook, Dutton

Slake thoroughly by the addition of small quantities of water at a time as needed, stirring until all small lumps are slaked.

From Tomato Culture: A Practical Treatise on the Tomato by Tracy, W. W. (William Warner)

Slake your thirst, but stay and tell me: did your heart with terror beat, When you stepped across the bare and blasted hillock at your feet?

From The Poems of Henry Kendall With Biographical Note by Bertram Stevens by Kendall, Henry

But Dermat stepped aside, and, being angry, thus addressed him— "Slake thy vengeance on our foes for the present: for me, the swords of the foreigners are enough, methinks, without thine to aid them!"

From Old Celtic Romances by Unknown

Related Words

• appease
• assuage
• quench