slippery

[slip-uh-ree, slip-ree]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR slippery ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, slip·per·i·er, slip·per·i·est.

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.

Origin of slippery

1525–35; alteration of slipper²; compare Low German slipperig; see -y¹

Related formsslip·per·i·ness, nounnon·slip·per·y, adjectiveun·slip·per·y, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for slipperier

silky, polished, unsafe, icy, unstable, wet, glistening, perilous, greasy, tricky, elusive, treacherous, smooth, slick, unpredictable, shifty, glassy, glazed, lustrous, satiny

Examples from the Web for slipperier

Historical Examples of slipperier

To me the cliff looked much like the Matterhorn, only slipperier.
Everyday Adventures
Samuel Scoville
But when they get to mixin' in things they're slipperier than a bunch of quicksilver.
The Long Dim Trail
Forrestine C. Hooker

British Dictionary definitions for slipperier

slippery

adjective

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

Derived Formsslipperily, adverbslipperiness, noun

Word Origin for slippery

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 Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.