slippery
[slip-uh-ree, slip-ree]
- tending or liable to cause slipping or sliding, as ice, oil, a wet surface, etc.: a slippery road.
- tending to slip from the hold or grasp or from position: a slippery rope.
- likely to slip away or escape: slippery prospects.
- not to be depended on; fickle; shifty, tricky, or deceitful.
- unstable or insecure, as conditions: a slippery situation.
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Origin of slippery
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
silkypolishedunsafeicyunstablewetglisteningperilousgreasytrickyelusivetreacheroussmoothslickunpredictableshiftyglassyglazedlustroussatinyExamples from the Web for slipperier
Historical Examples
To me the cliff looked much like the Matterhorn, only slipperier.
Everyday AdventuresSamuel Scoville
But when they get to mixin' in things they're slipperier than a bunch of quicksilver.
The Long Dim TrailForrestine C. Hooker
slippery
- causing or tending to cause objects to slipa slippery road
- liable to slip from the grasp, a position, etc
- not to be relied upon; cunning and untrustworthya slippery character
- (esp of a situation) liable to change; unstable
- slippery slope a course of action that will lead to disaster or failure
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Word Origin
C16: probably coined by Coverdale to translate German schlipfferig in Luther's Bible (Psalm 35:6); related to Old English slipor slippery
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for slipperier
slippery
adj.
"having a slippery surface," c.1500, from Middle English sliper (adj.) "readily slipping," from Old English slipor "slippery, having a smooth surface" (see slip (v.)) + -y (2). Metaphoric sense of "deceitful, untrustworthy" is first recorded 1550s. Related: Slipperiness. In a figurative sense, slippery slope is first attested 1844. Slippery elm (1748) so called for its mucilaginous inner bark.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper