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:
A slow period followed, forcing me to collect unemployment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
A painfully slow economic recovery followed in the 2010s.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 8, 2026
If you’re considering walking your cat, many who’ve done it offered the same tips: Start slow, don’t force anything and follow your cat’s lead.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
He added he hoped "voluntary slow downs" - a self-imposed pause by companies in AI development - would become commonplace until shared guardrails were established.
From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026
He smiled at me, the broad, slow smile I had loved since he was a child.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
He pointed to laptop production being slower than usual and demand for desktop computers looking “particularly weak.”
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 8, 2026
Norris, also on the hard tyre, was just under 0.2secs slower than Russell.
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026
The cumulative result is a slower shift to EVs, by several measures.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026
He added that Japanese companies often have low valuations due to prospects of slower growth, and that JAC is trying to change that perception.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
The pace of life in New York was far busier than the slower tempo of Mount Vernon.
From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis
Sales at Walmart stores and digital channels operating at least a year rose at their slowest pace in more than six years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026
The school is adding nonbinding early action for the first time, and hopes to expedite its response timeline to regular decision applicants, since it was one of the slowest last year, Haynie said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026
Consumer spending rose in July at the slowest pace in seven months, suggesting the U.S. economy lost a little steam after the end of the 2026 Word Cup and start of the third quarter.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 26, 2026
Sales at the US retail giant Walmart grew at their slowest pace for more than six years in the most recent quarter, suggesting American shoppers are under strain.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
The horses slowed to the slowest walk as the path became a stream, and the heavy rain cut off all vision as effectively as the thickest fog.
From "Stardust" by Neil Gaiman
Even if the bipartisan backlash against the AI boom slows the forecast pace of growth, data centers offer a tantalizing sales prospect for insurers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 5, 2026
He said the borrowing overshoot "will probably get bigger" this year as economic growth slows and the government rolls out more measures to support households with the cost of living.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
It can shop for the next decade rather than the next year, placing targeted bets across sleep, gene editing, cancer and psychedelics to diversify before the obesity-drug boom eventually slows.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
That said, Arya noted that there are still risks for Nvidia if demand for AI slows, which could put pressure on its growth rate and balance sheet.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
Just as I'm debating what I am, the truck slows down.
From "The Sky at Our Feet" by Nadia Hashimi
This may be a sign that investor demand for upside calls has faded and that the pace of new capital entering the trade has slowed.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 7, 2026
In August OpenAI said it had slowed down training some of its most advanced AI models to improve security.
From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026
But pressed on whether development should be slowed until safety measures catch up, he said he would be open to the idea.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 2026
That has fueled a longstanding scientific question: Could some of those changes eventually be slowed, prevented, or even reversed?
From Science Daily ● Sep. 4, 2026
The wheels slowed, clickety-clack, find the fifth, clickety-clack, find the fifth, as the motorman applied the brake and the train made its way ’round a steep mountain curve.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
German exports in July retreated for the first time since January, slowing a nascent recovery in net trade that helped drive the country’s economic growth in the first half of the year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
China is pumping tens of billions of dollars into eight state-owned banks and insurance companies to help shore up the country's financial system and boost its slowing economy.
From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026
Between 2010 and 2026, rent prices have doubled in the neighborhood, and there seems to be no slowing down.
From Slate ● Sep. 6, 2026
By slowing the degradation of PPARδ, pterostilbene allowed more of the protein to remain available inside the cell.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 5, 2026
I held back, slowing my pace rather than stopping and drawing attention to myself.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
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.
