Slack \Slack\, Slacken \Slack"en\, v. i. [imp. & p. p.
Slacked, Slackened; p. pr. & vb. n. Slacking,
Slackening.]
[See Slack, a.]
1. To become slack; to be made less tense, firm, or rigid; to
decrease in tension; as, a wet cord slackens in dry
weather.
[1913 Webster]
2. To be remiss or backward; to be negligent.
[1913 Webster]
3. To lose cohesion or solidity by a chemical combination
with water; to slake; as, lime slacks.
[1913 Webster]
4. To abate; to become less violent.
[1913 Webster]
Whence these raging fires
Will slacken, if his breath stir not their flames.
--Milton.
[1913 Webster]
5. To lose rapidity; to become more slow; as, a current of
water slackens.
[1913 Webster]
6. To languish; to fail; to flag.
[1913 Webster]
7. To end; to cease; to desist; to slake. [Obs.]
[1913 Webster]
That through your death your lineage should slack.
--Chaucer.
[1913 Webster]
They will not of that firste purpose slack.
--Chaucer.
[1913 Webster] Slack
Source: The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
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74 Moby Thesaurus words for "slackening":
abatement, allayment, alleviation, arrest, assuagement,
attenuation, attrition, blunting, calming, check, damping,
deadening, debilitation, deceleration, delay, demulsion, detention,
devitalization, dilution, diminution, drag, dulcification, dulling,
ease-off, ease-up, easing, effemination, enervation, enfeeblement,
evisceration, exhaustion, extenuation, falling-off, fatigue,
flagging, holdup, hushing, inanition, lag, languishment, leniency,
lessening, letdown, letup, lightening, loosening, lulling,
minus acceleration, mitigation, modulation, mollification,
obstruction, pacification, palliation, quietening, quieting,
reduction, relaxation, remission, retardation, retardment, setback,
slack-up, slowdown, slowing, slowing down, slowup, softening,
soothing, subduement, tempering, thinning, tranquilization,
weakening
Source: Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
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Slack \Slack\, Slacken \Slack"en\, v. i. [imp. & p. p.
Slacked, Slackened; p. pr. & vb. n. Slacking,
Slackening.]
[See Slack, a.]
1. To become slack; to be made less tense, firm, or rigid; to
decrease in tension; as, a wet cord slackens in dry
weather.
2. To be remiss or backward; to be negligent.
3. To lose cohesion or solidity by a chemical combination
with water; to slake; as, lime slacks.
4. To abate; to become less violent.
Whence these raging fires Will slacken, if his
breath stir not their flames. --Milton.
5. To lose rapidity; to become more slow; as, a current of
water slackens.
6. To languish; to fail; to flag.
7. To end; to cease; to desist; to slake. [Obs.]
That through your death your lineage should slack.
--Chaucer.
They will not of that firste purpose slack.
--Chaucer.
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
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