Slavic

American

[slah-vik, slav-ik] / ˈslɑ vɪk, ˈslæv ɪk /

noun

a branch of the Indo-European family of languages, usually divided into East Slavic (Russian, Ukrainian, Byelorussian), West Slavic (Polish, Czech, Slovak, Sorbian), and South Slavic (Old Church Slavonic, Macedonian, Bulgarian, Serbo-Croatian, Slovenian). Slav, Slav.

adjective

of or relating to the Slavs or their languages.

Slavic British

/ ˈslɑːvɪk /

noun

another word (esp US) for Slavonic

"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

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of Slavic

First recorded in 1805–15; Slav + -ic

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:

Slavic

As twilight settled on a hillside by the river near the eastern Ukrainian front, two soldiers exchanged wedding vows during a Slavic ritual honouring ancestors and fallen warriors.

From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 2026

Mr. Morson, a professor of Slavic languages and literatures at Northwestern University, is the author of “Wonder Confronts Certainty: Russian Writers on the Timeless Questions and Why Their Answers Matter.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 15, 2025

Baker: When I was looking for a name, I literally looked at names from the Slavic region.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 12, 2024

The Magura V5, named after a Slavic goddess of war, looks like a small motorboat with a flat surface instead of passenger seats.

From BBC ● Mar. 12, 2024

“Mr. Deckard?” the man asked with a Slavic accent.

From "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023