slippery

[ slip-uh-ree, slip-ree ]

adjective

, slip·per·i·er, slip·per·i·est.

1. tending or liable to cause slipping slip or sliding, as ice, oil, a wet surface, etc.:

   a slippery road.

2. tending to slip from the hold or grasp or from position:

   a slippery rope.

3. likely to slip away or escape:

   slippery prospects.

4. not to be depended on; fickle; shifty, tricky, or deceitful.
5. unstable or insecure, as conditions:

   a slippery situation.

slippery

/ -prɪ; ˈslɪpərɪ /

adjective

1. causing or tending to cause objects to slip

   a slippery road

2. liable to slip from the grasp, a position, etc
3. not to be relied upon; cunning and untrustworthy

   a slippery character

4. (esp of a situation) liable to change; unstable
5. slippery slope
   a course of action that will lead to disaster or failure

Derived Forms

• ˈslipperily, adverb
• ˈslipperiness, noun

Other Words From

• slipper·i·ness noun
• non·slipper·y adjective
• un·slipper·y adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of slippery¹

1525–35; alteration of slipper ²; compare Low German slipperig; -y ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of slippery¹

C16: probably coined by Coverdale to translate German schlipfferig in Luther's Bible (Psalm 35:6); related to Old English slipor slippery

Example Sentences

Historically, conservatives treated the minimum wage as an affront to free labor and a step on a slippery slope towards statism.

From The Daily Beast

Swiss leaders also dispel the “slippery slope” idea by repeatedly rejecting substantial minimum wage increases.

From The Daily Beast

Hers is a particular brand of essay: writing at its most crystal clear, subject matter at its most slippery and interesting.

From The Daily Beast

The slippery slope argument is a way of keeping the hands-off-the-Internet-entirely philosophy going.

From The Daily Beast

Which is why his efforts to justify his rabid consumption of football wind up feeling so slippery and convoluted.

From The Daily Beast

He will find that “Ice” is a concrete word, and “Slippery” indicates a quality of “Ice” and of other things.

From Project Gutenberg

He must write down the first two words, “Ice” and “Slippery,” the latter word under the former.

From Project Gutenberg

As Isabel walked carefully down the slippery stair she veiled her eyes to hide the wonder in them.

From Project Gutenberg

If these gentlemen had thought to avoid slippery ground, they should have elected to appoint the meeting elsewhere.

From Project Gutenberg

The floors and steps are wet and slippery with brine and with the blood of herrings dripping down from one floor to another.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• elusive
• shifty
• slick
• smooth
• treacherous
• tricky
• unpredictable
• unsafe
• unstable