slacken
Americanverb (used with or without object)
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
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has slackenedperfect 3rd person singular
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have slackenedperfect
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am slackeningprogressive 1st person singular
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have been slackeningperfect progressive
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are slackeningprogressive
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slackeningparticiple
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slackenssingular 3rd person
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is slackeningprogressive 3rd person singular
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has been slackeningperfect progressive 3rd person singular
Past
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had slackenedperfect
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had been slackeningperfect progressive
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slackenedsimple
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was slackeningprogressive singular
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slackenedparticiple
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were slackeningprogressive plural
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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Flush
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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.
Once demand for calls tied to hot megacap and semiconductor names starts to slacken, it could be a sign that a selloff is imminent, he said.
From MarketWatch • May 28, 2026
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
They had been going for a long while — Pippin had tried to keep count of the ‘ent-strides’ but had failed, getting lost at about three thousand — when Treebeard began to slacken his pace.
From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien
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.
