slow
Americanadjective
-
slower,
comparative
-
slowest
superlative
-
moving or proceeding with little or less than usual speed or velocity.
a slow train.
- Synonyms:
- unhurried
- Antonyms:
- fast
-
characterized by lack of speed.
a slow pace.
- Synonyms:
- unhurried
- Antonyms:
- fast
-
taking or requiring a comparatively long time for completion.
a slow meal; a slow trip.
- Antonyms:
- fast
-
requiring or taking a long time for growing, changing, or occurring; gradual.
a plant of slow growth.
-
made, created, or done in a careful, thorough, or traditional way in order to ensure such benefits as quality, environmental sustainability, or time for mental reflection: What's known as slow journalism is an approach to reporting that avoids superficial headlines and instead focuses on in-depth storytelling and a more considered analysis of events.
Give slow tourism a try as you leisurely explore this charming island, soak in the surrounding nature, and savor local encounters.
What's known as slow journalism is an approach to reporting that avoids superficial headlines and instead focuses on in-depth storytelling and a more considered analysis of events.
-
sluggish in nature, disposition, or function.
- Synonyms:
- slothful, lazy, indolent, dilatory, sluggardly
-
dull of perception or understanding; mentally dull.
a slow child.
- Synonyms:
- dense
-
not prompt, readily disposed, or in haste (usually followed by to or an infinitive).
slow to anger; slow to take offense.
-
burning or heating with little speed or intensity, as a fire or an oven.
-
slack; not busy.
The market was slow today.
-
having some quality that retards speed or causes movement, progress, work, etc., to be accomplished at less than the usual or expected rate of speed: a slow road.
a slow, careful worker;
a slow road.
-
running at less than the proper rate of speed or registering less than the proper time, as a clock.
-
passing heavily or dragging, as time.
It's been a slow afternoon.
-
not progressive; behind the times: a slow town.
-
dull, humdrum, uninteresting, or tedious.
What a slow party!
- Synonyms:
- boring
-
Photography. requiring long exposure, as by having a small lens diameter or low film sensitivity.
a slow lens or film.
-
(of the surface of a race track) sticky from a fairly recent rain and in the process of drying out.
adverb
verb (used with object)
-
slows,
present (3rd person singular)
-
slowed,
past participle, past
-
slowing
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
slows,
present (3rd person singular)
-
slowed,
past participle, past
-
slowing
present participle
adjective
-
performed or occurring during a comparatively long interval of time
-
lasting a comparatively long time
a slow journey
-
characterized by lack of speed
a slow walker
-
(prenominal) adapted to or productive of slow movement
the slow lane of a motorway
-
(of a clock, etc) indicating a time earlier than the correct time
-
given to or characterized by a leisurely or lazy existence
a slow town
-
not readily responsive to stimulation; intellectually unreceptive
a slow mind
-
dull or uninteresting
the play was very slow
-
not easily aroused
a slow temperament
-
lacking promptness or immediacy
a slow answer
-
unwilling to perform an action or enter into a state
slow to anger
-
behind the times
-
(of trade, etc) unproductive; slack
-
(of a fire) burning weakly
-
(of an oven) cool
-
photog requiring a relatively long time of exposure to produce a given density
a slow lens
-
sport (of a track, etc) tending to reduce the speed of the ball or the competitors
-
cricket (of a bowler, etc) delivering the ball slowly, usually with spin
adverb
verb
Commonly Confused
As an adverb, slow has two forms, slow and slowly. Slowly appeared first in the 15th century; slow came into use shortly thereafter. Both are standard today in certain uses. Originally, slow was used both preceding and following the verb it modified. Today, it is used chiefly in imperative constructions with short verbs of motion ( drive, run, turn, walk, etc.), and it follows the verb: Drive slow. Don't walk so slow. This use is more common in speech than in writing, although it occurs widely on traffic and road signs. Slow also combines with present participles in forming adjectives: slow-burning; slow-moving. In this use it is standard in all varieties of speech and writing. Slowly is by far the more common form of the adverb in writing. In both speech and writing it is the usual form in preverb position ( He slowly drove down the street. The couple slowly strolled into the park ) and following verbs that are not imperatives ( He drove slowly down the street. The couple strolled slowly through the park ). See also quick, sure.
Synonym Usage
Slow, deliberate, gradual, leisurely mean unhurried and not happening rapidly. That which is slow acts or moves without haste or rapidity: a slow procession of cars. Deliberate implies the slowness that marks careful consideration before and while acting: a deliberate and calculating manner. Gradual suggests the slowness of something that advances one step at a time: a gradual improvement in service. That which is leisurely moves with the slowness allowed by ample time or the absence of pressure: an unhurried and leisurely stroll. See dull.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
overslownessnoun
-
slownessnoun
-
unslownessnoun
-
overslowadjective
-
ultraslowadjective
-
unslowadjective
-
unslowedadjective
-
overslowlyadverb
-
slowlyadverb
-
ultraslowlyadverb
-
unslowlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
slowsimple
-
slowssimple
-
have slowedperfect
-
has slowedperfect
-
am slowingprogressive
-
are slowingprogressive
-
is slowingprogressive
-
have been slowingperfect progressive
-
has been slowingperfect progressive
Past
-
slowedsimple
-
had slowedperfect
-
was slowingprogressive
-
were slowingprogressive
-
had been slowingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of slow
First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English slāw “sluggish, dull”; cognate with Dutch sleeuw; cf. sloth
Explanation
Slow things don't move fast, but take a while to get where they're going or do what they're doing. Traveling on a slow train might be fun, but you'll get to California faster on a plane. If it takes you a long time to finish a book, you're a slow reader, and if it takes years to become fluent in a foreign language, you can call it a slow process. Slow music is relaxing, with a leisurely beat. Sometimes slow means "boring or dull," like a slow movie plot, or "running behind," like the slow clock on the wall in your math class. As a verb, slow means "to reduce speed or intensity."
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:
Rather than shoveling your food down while hovering over your laptop or phone, slow down and pay attention to your food as you eat.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 16, 2026
Tracking both alongside established climate indicators could help scientists determine how slow environmental changes affect human biology over periods of decades.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 15, 2026
Simpson started slow in the first few training camp workouts, but he appeared to break through when he stepped up in the pocket and completed a pass across the middle of the field.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
Primary care is a slow way to repay it, so fewer doctors choose the field.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Fists on his hips, Clare blew out his breath in a slow stream.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
As a result, their strides were shorter, and their walking speeds were slower.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026
Getting around slower traffic on the highway typically involves a foot-to-the-floor maneuver, which is answered with a portentous auto-downshift followed by a lot of yammering.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
"We deliberately looked at a scenario that is much slower than what we're experiencing today," explains co-author Reyk Börner.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 14, 2026
Still, on an annualized basis, U.K. growth was 1.7% in the second quarter, stronger than the U.S.’s 1.5% and only slightly slower than the eurozone’s 1.8%.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
His voice still sounds like Grandpa but slower and weaker, with a slight slur.
From "Finding Junie Kim" by Ellen Oh
A tiny organ in Germany offers the world’s slowest concert.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 6, 2026
China's economy grew 4.3 percent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2026, the slowest pace in more than three years, official data showed this month.
From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026
China’s economy just posted its slowest quarterly growth in three years—4.3%, missing forecasts, with fixed-asset investment down and consumption still limp.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
For now, it's the slowest of retreats from the States, the memory of those early days in New York and New Jersey now dimmed, the hope of the 4-0 win over Bolivia crushed to bits.
From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2026
Of the generation that followed Beethoven, Chopin was the composer whose influence was slowest to make its impact.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
"The box office generally slows during the second half of August as kids start returning to school, but right now business remains extremely strong," said industry analyst David A. Gross.
From Barron's ● Aug. 16, 2026
It’s a song about feeling disconnected from herself and the world during her life as a performer, with an impressionistic arrangement that speeds up, slows down, builds in density and then falls away.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
"Journaling helps - your mind can think so much faster than you can write. Writing slows everything down," she says.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
At lower energies, nuclear stopping initially slows the matter down, producing deceleration of up to about 500 MeV.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 3, 2026
Just as I'm debating what I am, the truck slows down.
From "The Sky at Our Feet" by Nadia Hashimi
Traffic this month has slowed from July, when an average of 26 vessels crossed the strait every day.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
“Growth slowed in the second quarter of the year, following a strong start to 2026, but remained relatively robust,” Office for National Statistics Director of Economic Statistics Liz McKeown said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
Both consumer- and wholesale-price increases have slowed enough in the past few months to raise doubts about whether the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates in September.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026
US consumer inflation slowed slightly in July, government data showed, with a virtual stalemate in the US-Iran war giving consumers some respite from sharp price increases at the gasoline pump.
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
His leg smacked into a piece of wood, but that barely slowed him down.
From "I Survived Hurricane Katrina, 2005" by Lauren Tarshis
Stocks were slipping, but the S&P 500 was still on track to end the week near records after a boost from slowing inflation and some AI-related stocks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Avoiding dangerous climate changes may depend not only on limiting how warm the planet eventually becomes, but also on slowing how quickly it gets there.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 14, 2026
Hopkins said he is becoming more at peace with slowing down his hectic acting career, and of appreciating the time he’s been given.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
The reading suggested the world's number one economy was slowing, though traders welcomed the prospect the Federal Reserve will hold off hiking borrowing costs for the time being.
From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026
I dig my fingers into the wood and just focus on slowing down my heart, because it is slamming into my chest and I can’t breathe.
From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz
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.
