Slavic

American  

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

noun

1. 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

1. of or relating to the Slavs or their languages.

Slavic British  

/ ˈslɑːvɪk /

noun

1. another word (esp US) for Slavonic

---

Other Word Forms

• anti-Slavic
  adjective
• non-Slavic
  adjective
• pro-Slavic
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of Slavic

First recorded in 1805–15; Slav + -ic

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Slavic

The exodus and the ageing of the ethnic Slavic population -- many descendants of people forcibly resettled there in the Soviet era -- and the lack of economic prospects are all driving the internal migration.

From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026

Walking down a brightly lighted factory floor, Graham inspected rows of heavy Vampire bomber drones—known to Russian troops as “Baba Yaga,” after witchlike figures in Slavic folklore—and smaller Shrike attack drones.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026

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

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 12, 2024

Women who came from the Slavic areas of the Ottoman Empire, which extended all the way into the Circassian mountains, in what is now Bulgaria, would be taken because of how they looked.

From Salon ● Feb. 27, 2024

For example, Russia, once a small Slavic state centered on Moscow, did not even begin its expansion beyond the Ural Mountains until A.D.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond