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slant

[slant, slahnt]
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verb (used without object)
  1. to veer or angle away from a given level or line, especially from a horizontal; slope.
  2. to have or be influenced by a subjective point of view, bias, personal feeling or inclination, etc. (usually followed by toward).
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verb (used with object)
  1. to cause to slope.
  2. to distort (information) by rendering it unfaithfully or incompletely, especially in order to reflect a particular viewpoint: He slanted the news story to discredit the Administration.
  3. to write, edit, or publish for the interest or amusement of a specific group of readers: a story slanted toward young adults.
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noun
  1. slanting or oblique direction; slope: the slant of a roof.
  2. a slanting line, surface, etc.
  3. virgule.
  4. a mental leaning, bias, or distortion: His mind shows a curious slant.
  5. viewpoint; opinion; attitude: Let him give you his slant.
  6. Informal. a glance or look.
  7. Also called angle. Journalism. the particular mood or vein in which something is written, edited, or published: His column always has a humorous slant.
  8. Football.
    1. an offensive play in which the ball-carrier runs toward the line of scrimmage at an angle.
    2. Also called slant-in.a pass pattern in which a receiver cuts diagonally across the middle of the field.
  9. Also called slant-eye [slant-ahy, slahnt-ahy] /ˈslæntˌaɪ, ˈslɑntˌaɪ/. Slang: Extremely Disparaging and Offensive. a contemptuous term used to refer to a person from East Asia, especially a Chinese or Japanese person.
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adjective
  1. sloping; oblique: a slant roof; a slant approach.
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Origin of slant

First recorded in 1485–95; aphetic variant of aslant
Related formsslant·ing·ly, slant·ly, adverbun·slant·ed, adjectiveun·slant·ing, adjective

Synonyms

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1. lean, incline. See slope. 6. incline, inclination, pitch, obliquity, obliqueness.

Usage note

See slant-eyed.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

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British Dictionary definitions for slanting

slant

verb
  1. to incline or be inclined at an oblique or sloping angle
  2. (tr) to write or present (news, etc) with a bias
  3. (intr foll by towards) (of a person's opinions) to be biased
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noun
  1. an inclined or oblique line or direction; slope
  2. a way of looking at something
  3. a bias or opinion, as in an article
  4. a less technical name for solidus
  5. on a slant or on the slant sloping
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adjective
  1. oblique, sloping
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Derived Formsslanting, adjectiveslantingly or slantly, adverb

Word Origin

C17: short for aslant, probably of Scandinavian origin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for slanting

slant

v.

1520s, "to strike obliquely" (against something), alteration of slenten "slip sideways" (c.1300), perhaps via a Scandinavian source (cf. Swedish slinta "to slip," Norwegian slenta "to fall on one side"), from Proto-Germanic *slintanan. Intransitive sense of "to slope, to lie obliquely" is first recorded 1690s; transitive sense of "to give a sloping direction to" is from 1805. Related: Slanted; slanting. As an adverb from late 15c.; as an adjective from 1610s. Slant rhyme attested from 1944.

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slant

n.

1650s, "an oblique direction or plane" (originally of landforms), from slant (v.). Meaning "a way of regarding something" is from 1905. Derogatory slang sense of "a slant-eyed Asian person" is recorded from 1943, from earlier slant-eyes (1929).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper