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View synonyms for slippery

slippery

[ slip-uh-ree, slip-ree ]

adjective

, slip·per·i·er, slip·per·i·est.
  1. tending or liable to cause slipping slip or sliding, as ice, oil, a wet surface, etc.:

    a slippery road.

  2. tending to slip from the hold or grasp or from position:

    a slippery rope.

  3. likely to slip away or escape:

    slippery prospects.

  4. not to be depended on; fickle; shifty, tricky, or deceitful.
  5. unstable or insecure, as conditions:

    a slippery situation.



slippery

/ -prɪ; ˈslɪpərɪ /

adjective

  1. causing or tending to cause objects to slip

    a slippery road

  2. liable to slip from the grasp, a position, etc
  3. not to be relied upon; cunning and untrustworthy

    a slippery character

  4. (esp of a situation) liable to change; unstable
  5. slippery slope
    a course of action that will lead to disaster or failure
“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


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Derived Forms

  • ˈslipperily, adverb
  • ˈslipperiness, noun
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Other Words From

  • slipper·i·ness noun
  • non·slipper·y adjective
  • un·slipper·y adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of slippery1

1525–35; alteration of slipper 2; compare Low German slipperig; -y 1
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Word History and Origins

Origin of slippery1

C16: probably coined by Coverdale to translate German schlipfferig in Luther's Bible (Psalm 35:6); related to Old English slipor slippery
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Example Sentences

That ability to vector torque towards traction should endow the Hummer EV with an unprecedented ability to keep moving forward through even the gnarliest of slippery conditions.

Charlotte opted to design a new, more slippery coating for a ship’s hull so that fewer creatures would be able to hitch a ride.

People opposed to Measure E say nixing the height limit in Midway is the beginning of a slippery slope and could inspire other coastal neighborhoods to do the same.

Opponents think the measure is a slippery slope to removing the height limit in other places.

The fact that then-Justice Antonin Scalia died 269 days before that year’s presidential election, while Ginsberg passed away 46 days before this one, is just butter on the greased pole of slippery words.

From Ozy

Historically, conservatives treated the minimum wage as an affront to free labor and a step on a slippery slope towards statism.

Swiss leaders also dispel the “slippery slope” idea by repeatedly rejecting substantial minimum wage increases.

Hers is a particular brand of essay: writing at its most crystal clear, subject matter at its most slippery and interesting.

The slippery slope argument is a way of keeping the hands-off-the-Internet-entirely philosophy going.

Which is why his efforts to justify his rabid consumption of football wind up feeling so slippery and convoluted.

He will find that “Ice” is a concrete word, and “Slippery” indicates a quality of “Ice” and of other things.

He must write down the first two words, “Ice” and “Slippery,” the latter word under the former.

As Isabel walked carefully down the slippery stair she veiled her eyes to hide the wonder in them.

If these gentlemen had thought to avoid slippery ground, they should have elected to appoint the meeting elsewhere.

The floors and steps are wet and slippery with brine and with the blood of herrings dripping down from one floor to another.

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