slow
Americanadjective
-
slower,
comparative
-
slowest
superlative
-
moving or proceeding with little or less than usual speed or velocity.
a slow train.
- Synonyms:
- unhurried
- Antonyms:
- fast
-
characterized by lack of speed.
a slow pace.
- Synonyms:
- unhurried
- Antonyms:
- fast
-
taking or requiring a comparatively long time for completion.
a slow meal; a slow trip.
- Antonyms:
- fast
-
requiring or taking a long time for growing, changing, or occurring; gradual.
a plant of slow growth.
-
made, created, or done in a careful, thorough, or traditional way in order to ensure such benefits as quality, environmental sustainability, or time for mental reflection: What's known as slow journalism is an approach to reporting that avoids superficial headlines and instead focuses on in-depth storytelling and a more considered analysis of events.
Give slow tourism a try as you leisurely explore this charming island, soak in the surrounding nature, and savor local encounters.
What's known as slow journalism is an approach to reporting that avoids superficial headlines and instead focuses on in-depth storytelling and a more considered analysis of events.
-
sluggish in nature, disposition, or function.
- Synonyms:
- slothful, lazy, indolent, dilatory, sluggardly
-
dull of perception or understanding; mentally dull.
a slow child.
- Synonyms:
- dense
-
not prompt, readily disposed, or in haste (usually followed by to or an infinitive).
slow to anger; slow to take offense.
-
burning or heating with little speed or intensity, as a fire or an oven.
-
slack; not busy.
The market was slow today.
-
having some quality that retards speed or causes movement, progress, work, etc., to be accomplished at less than the usual or expected rate of speed: a slow road.
a slow, careful worker;
a slow road.
-
running at less than the proper rate of speed or registering less than the proper time, as a clock.
-
passing heavily or dragging, as time.
It's been a slow afternoon.
-
not progressive; behind the times: a slow town.
-
dull, humdrum, uninteresting, or tedious.
What a slow party!
- Synonyms:
- boring
-
Photography. requiring long exposure, as by having a small lens diameter or low film sensitivity.
a slow lens or film.
-
(of the surface of a race track) sticky from a fairly recent rain and in the process of drying out.
adverb
verb (used with object)
-
slows,
present (3rd person singular)
-
slowed,
past participle, past
-
slowing
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
slows,
present (3rd person singular)
-
slowed,
past participle, past
-
slowing
present participle
adjective
-
performed or occurring during a comparatively long interval of time
-
lasting a comparatively long time
a slow journey
-
characterized by lack of speed
a slow walker
-
(prenominal) adapted to or productive of slow movement
the slow lane of a motorway
-
(of a clock, etc) indicating a time earlier than the correct time
-
given to or characterized by a leisurely or lazy existence
a slow town
-
not readily responsive to stimulation; intellectually unreceptive
a slow mind
-
dull or uninteresting
the play was very slow
-
not easily aroused
a slow temperament
-
lacking promptness or immediacy
a slow answer
-
unwilling to perform an action or enter into a state
slow to anger
-
behind the times
-
(of trade, etc) unproductive; slack
-
(of a fire) burning weakly
-
(of an oven) cool
-
photog requiring a relatively long time of exposure to produce a given density
a slow lens
-
sport (of a track, etc) tending to reduce the speed of the ball or the competitors
-
cricket (of a bowler, etc) delivering the ball slowly, usually with spin
adverb
verb
Commonly Confused
As an adverb, slow has two forms, slow and slowly. Slowly appeared first in the 15th century; slow came into use shortly thereafter. Both are standard today in certain uses. Originally, slow was used both preceding and following the verb it modified. Today, it is used chiefly in imperative constructions with short verbs of motion ( drive, run, turn, walk, etc.), and it follows the verb: Drive slow. Don't walk so slow. This use is more common in speech than in writing, although it occurs widely on traffic and road signs. Slow also combines with present participles in forming adjectives: slow-burning; slow-moving. In this use it is standard in all varieties of speech and writing. Slowly is by far the more common form of the adverb in writing. In both speech and writing it is the usual form in preverb position ( He slowly drove down the street. The couple slowly strolled into the park ) and following verbs that are not imperatives ( He drove slowly down the street. The couple strolled slowly through the park ). See also quick, sure.
Synonym Usage
Slow, deliberate, gradual, leisurely mean unhurried and not happening rapidly. That which is slow acts or moves without haste or rapidity: a slow procession of cars. Deliberate implies the slowness that marks careful consideration before and while acting: a deliberate and calculating manner. Gradual suggests the slowness of something that advances one step at a time: a gradual improvement in service. That which is leisurely moves with the slowness allowed by ample time or the absence of pressure: an unhurried and leisurely stroll. See dull.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
overslownessnoun
-
slownessnoun
-
unslownessnoun
-
overslowadjective
-
ultraslowadjective
-
unslowadjective
-
unslowedadjective
-
overslowlyadverb
-
slowlyadverb
-
ultraslowlyadverb
-
unslowlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
slowsimple
-
slowssimple
-
have slowedperfect
-
has slowedperfect
-
am slowingprogressive
-
are slowingprogressive
-
is slowingprogressive
-
have been slowingperfect progressive
-
has been slowingperfect progressive
Past
-
slowedsimple
-
had slowedperfect
-
was slowingprogressive
-
were slowingprogressive
-
had been slowingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of slow
First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English slāw “sluggish, dull”; cognate with Dutch sleeuw; cf. sloth
Explanation
Slow things don't move fast, but take a while to get where they're going or do what they're doing. Traveling on a slow train might be fun, but you'll get to California faster on a plane. If it takes you a long time to finish a book, you're a slow reader, and if it takes years to become fluent in a foreign language, you can call it a slow process. Slow music is relaxing, with a leisurely beat. Sometimes slow means "boring or dull," like a slow movie plot, or "running behind," like the slow clock on the wall in your math class. As a verb, slow means "to reduce speed or intensity."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Matt Cullen has travelled from Cambridge to most of the London games and said there were two main reasons for the slow sales; a price hike and a season-ticket package being scrapped.
From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026
The renewed attacks may already be taking a toll, with early signs that oil flows are beginning to slow, analysts say.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026
Chemotherapy can slow the disease in some people, but outcomes remain poor, and the environment surrounding the tumor is thought to play an important role in treatment resistance.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 4, 2026
"Abuja is slow, slow in every way. People are very laid back," Lexy Mojo-Eyes, the dapper organiser of the fashion week, who cut his teeth in Lagos, told AFP.
From Barron's ● Oct. 3, 2026
The public grew tired of the same old spirits who tipped tables, played instruments, and rapped slow messages.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
“Consumer agents seem to have been a bit slower to take off in the West,” McPadden said.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 3, 2026
But at nearly 0.3 seconds slower in qualifying, and with the pace Verstappen has shown all weekend, Hamilton's mindset on Saturday was to "just try my best to hold on to him tomorrow".
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026
A steep slope makes water move quickly, while a shallow slope produces slower flow.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 2, 2026
The Topolino, which went on sale this summer, is a bet by the Italian brand that Americans in two-car households may be open to a much smaller and slower ride for their second vehicle.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
Then the Jackson boys had gone from singing the Sly and the Family Stone song to singing a slower song.
From "P.S. Be Eleven" by Rita Williams-Garcia
On Wednesday, payroll firm ADP reported that US private sector hiring had bounced back strongly in September, after registering its slowest pace this year the month before.
From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026
China's retail sales grew last month at their slowest pace since May, official data showed on Tuesday, as the country's leaders struggle to reverse a persistent slump in spending.
From Barron's ● Sep. 15, 2026
It was the slowest average in the major leagues—and the team’s general manager wasn’t entirely sure how to fix it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
Higher oil prices, and the subsequent demand destruction in China, Hu said, is a crucial reason why economic growth slowed in the second quarter to its slowest level since late 2022.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026
Our slowest defensive response is through natural selection, which changes our gene frequencies from generation to generation.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
Anything that slows the home industry, so the argument goes, only helps the other side.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026
Young workers in the US are also struggling with a tight jobs market, external as hiring slows.
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026
Odin is a bionic dog, with titanium teeth and a prosthetic foot from injuries sustained during wartime, but nothing slows him down, not even a plane crash.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026
They see AI investment changing from a tailwind for S&P 500 earnings of 11 percentage points this year to a “marginal drag” in 2028 as capital expenditure growth slows and depreciation costs loom.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 21, 2026
The corporal slows his steps, then stops short and turns to me.
From "Internment" by Samira Ahmed
But bottlenecks have slowed delivery of critical weapons.
From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026
Healthcare employers added 17,000 jobs, although the pace of hiring slowed compared with the past year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
The gradual emergence of mazelike permitting processes further slowed more ambitious new refining projects, at least in some areas.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 1, 2026
The pair of reports depict an economy where growth hasn’t slowed and inflation is holding steady, albeit at an elevated level.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026
A minute later, something new began to take shape in the snowy darkness, and George and Owen slowed again.
From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz
One of the most important possibilities raised by the findings is that ImP itself could become a target for preventing or slowing Alzheimer's disease and related dementias.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 3, 2026
Price rises were "showing no signs of slowing, heaping more misery onto motorists," the group said.
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026
The problem is that hopes for AI profits are so elevated that higher financing and energy costs aren’t slowing investment plans, keeping the AI-driven parts of the economy red-hot.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
The RAC said price rises were "showing no signs of slowing, heaping more misery onto motorists".
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026
The train was slowing down, though, and then it stopped.
From "A Place to Belong" by Cynthia Kadohata
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
