slick

American  

[slik] / slɪk /

adjective

slicker, slickest

1. smooth and glossy; sleek.

2. smooth in manners, speech, etc.; suave.

3. sly; shrewdly adroit.

   He's a slick customer, all right.

   Synonyms:

   superficial, shallow, glib, sharp, foxy, tricky, wily

4. ingenious; cleverly devised.

   a slick plan to get out of work.

5. slippery, especially from being covered with or as if with ice, water, or oil.

6. deftly executed and having surface appeal or sophistication, but shallow or glib in content; polished but superficial.

   a writer who has mastered every formula of slick fiction.

7. Slang. wonderful; fantastic; first-rate.

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noun

1. a smooth or slippery place or spot or the substance causing it.

   oil slick.

2. Informal.

   1. a magazine printed on paper having a more or less glossy finish.

   2. such a magazine regarded as possessing qualities, as expensiveness, chic, and sophistication, that hold appeal for a particular readership, as one whose members enjoy or are seeking affluence.

   3. such a magazine regarded as having a sophisticated, deftly executed, but shallow or glib literary content.

3. any woodworking chisel having a blade more than 2 inches (5 centimeters) wide.

4. any of various paddlelike tools for smoothing a surface.

5. Automotive. a wide tire without a tread, used in racing.

6. Military Slang. a helicopter.

7. Metallurgy. a small trowel used for smoothing the surface of a mold.

adverb

1. smoothly; cleverly.

verb (used with object)

1. to make sleek or smooth.

2. to use a slicker on (skins or hides).

3. Informal. to spruce up; make smart or fine (usually followed byup ).

slick British  

/ slɪk /

adjective

1. flattering and glib

   a slick salesman

2. adroitly devised or executed

   a slick show

3. informal shrewd; sly

4. informal superficially attractive

   a slick publication

5. smooth and glossy; slippery

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noun

1. a slippery area, esp a patch of oil floating on water

2. a chisel or other tool used for smoothing or polishing a surface

3. the tyre of a racing car that has worn treads

verb

1. to make smooth or sleek

2. informal (usually foll by up) to smarten or tidy (oneself)

3. (often foll by up) to make smooth or glossy

Other Word Forms

• slickly adverb
• slickness noun
• unslicked adjective

Etymology

Origin of slick

First recorded before 900 for the verb, 1350–1400 for the adjective; Middle English verb slicke(n), Old English (nīw)slīcod “(newly) polished”; Middle English adjective slik(e), slyk(e), from unrecorded Old English slice; cognate with dialectal Dutch sleek “even, smooth”; noun derivative of the verb or adjective; adverb derivative of the adjective

Example Sentences

Forecasters are predicting moderate effects from the storm including increased traffic accidents because of slick and flooded roads, minor mudslides and minor debris flow.

From Los Angeles Times

Ms. Fennell is a millennial who might have been expected to make the material slick, hip or at least fast; she has done none of that.

From The Wall Street Journal

Vines sprouted from the earth and turned into slick bridges so they could slide across.

From Literature

Rupp’s slick multimedia work speaks to both technology and societal perceptions of aging women.

From Los Angeles Times

And then there are the finishing touches: cream, fresh herbs, a slick of oil, a splash of vinegar—the small, deliberate choices that make a soup feel finished rather than merely done.

From Salon

Related Words

• deft
• glib
• sharp
• shrewd
• skillful
• sly
• smooth
• sophisticated