slow
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /sləʊ/
ipa: /sloʊ/
rhymes: -əʊ
homophone: sloe
Forms: form: slower
form: slowest
Etymology: From Middle English slow, slaw, from Old English slāw (“sluggish, inert, slothful, late, tardy, torpid, slow”), from Proto-West Germanic *slaiw, from Proto-Germanic *slaiwaz (“blunt, dull, faint, weak, slack”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *sleyH-u- (“bad”).
Cognate with Scots slaw (“slow”), West Frisian sleau (“slow, dull, lazy”), Dutch sleeuw (“blunt, dull”), Low German slee (“dull, sluggish”), German schlehe, schleh (“dull, exhausted, faint”), Danish sløv (“dull, torpid, drowsy”), Swedish slö (“slack, lazy”), Icelandic sljór (“dim-witted, slow”).
Senses: examples: text: a slow train; a slow computer
text: Holding out her small olive hand before her captain, she said in mild and slowest Spanish, "Senor, I buried him;" then paused, struggled as against the writhed coilings of a snake, and cringing suddenly, leaped up, repeating in impassioned pain, "I buried him, my life, my soul!"
ref: 1854, Herman Melville, The Encantadas:
text: Dotcom mania was slow in coming to higher education, but now it has the venerable industry firmly in its grip. Since the launch early last year of Udacity and Coursera, two Silicon Valley start-ups offering free education through MOOCs, massive open online courses, the ivory towers of academia have been shaken to their foundations.
ref: 2013 July 20, “The attack of the MOOCs”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845:
glosses: Taking a long time to move or go a short distance, or to perform an action; not quick in motion; proceeding at a low speed.
examples: text: Theſe changes in the Heav’ns, though ſlow, produc’d / Like change on Sea and Land, ſideral blaſt, / Vapour, and Miſt, and Exhalation hot, / Corrupt and Peſtilent: […]
ref: 1667, John Milton, “Book IX”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC, signature [Mm3], verso, lines 692–695:
text: Similar studies of rats have employed four different intracranial resorbable, slow sustained release systems—surgical foam, a thermal gel depot, a microcapsule or biodegradable polymer beads.
ref: 2013 May–June, Charles T. Ambrose, “Alzheimer’s Disease”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3, page 200:
text: As of the current patch, Luke’s crouching Medium Punch has been nerfed. It will now have a larger hurtbox, in addition to having a slower recovery when the attack misses.
ref: 2024 February 27, Rishov Mukherjee, “Street Fighter 6 update 1.11 patch notes: JP, Luke nerfs, Ryu buff, & more”, in Dexerto:
glosses: Not happening in a short time; spread over a comparatively long time.
examples: text: Experienced classroom teachers are well acquainted with the attention-seeker, the shy girl, the aggressive boy, the poor concentrator, the slow student […]
ref: 1960, Dissertation Abstracts, volume 20, page 4007:
text: Hey, don't yell at Homer, just because he's a little slow.
ref: 1994, Greg Daniels, “Secrets of a Successful Marriage”, in The Simpsons, season 5, episode 22, spoken by Carl (Hank Azaria):
glosses: Of reduced intellectual capacity; not quick to comprehend.
examples: text: He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding.
ref: 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Proverbs xiv:29:
text: And even after the emotional cast comes off, we need to be slow about getting deeply involved in a relationship again
ref: 1999, Brian Paul Kaufman, K. Winston Caine, Prayer, Faith, and Healing: Cure Your Body, Heal Your Mind and Restore Your Soul:
glosses: Not hasty; not tending to hurry; acting with deliberation or caution.
examples: text: That clock is slow.
glosses: Behind in time; indicating a time earlier than the true time.
raw_tags: of a clock or the like
glosses: Lacking spirit; deficient in liveliness or briskness.
examples: text: It was a slow news day, so the editor asked us to make our articles wordier.
text: I'm just sitting here with a desk of cards, enjoying a slow afternoon.
glosses: Not busy; lacking activity.
raw_tags: of a period of time
Synonyms: sense: taking a long time to move a short distance
word: deliberate
word: moderate
sense: not happening in a short time
word: gradual
word: gradual
sense: of reduced intellectual capacity
word: dull-witted
word: stupid
topics: acting
film
theater
entertainment
lifestyle
television
broadcasting
media
word: careful
raw_tags: with deliberation
word: deliberate
word: prudent
word: cautious
sense: lacking spirit
word: boring
word: dilatory
word: dull
word: inactive
word: tardy
word: slothful
word: sluggish
word: boring
sense: not busy
word: quiet
sense: not busy
word: unbusy
word: crawling
word: languid
word: languorous
word: draggy
word: creeping
word: dreich
word: gastropodous
word: glacial
word: heavy-footed
word: inching
word: inert
word: labored
word: leaden
word: lead-footed
word: lethargic
word: low-speed
word: lumbering
word: plodding
word: pokey
word: ponderous
word: slothlike
word: slow
word: slow as a snail
word: slow as Christmas
word: slow as molasses
word: slow as molasses in January
word: slowfooted
word: stately
word: steady
word: subglacial
word: sullen
word: tardigrade
word: tedious
word: testudineous
word: torpid
word: unspeedy
Derived terms: digital slow motion
dog slow
go-slow
hyperslow
infraslow
low and slow
overslow
slofie
Sloman
sloth
slow-acting
slow and steady wins the race
slow but sure wins the race
Slowaris
slow as a snail
slow as Christmas
slow as molasses
slow as molasses in January
slower than molasses
slower than molasses in January
slowass
slow as tar
slowback
slowbalization
slowball
slow ball
slow-belly
slow belly
slow bowler
slow burn
slow burner
slow-burning
slow clap
slowcoach
slow-cook
slow cooker
slowcore
slow dance
slowdown
slow earthquake
slowen
slow fashion
slow food
slow-footed
slowfooted
slowfox
slow head
slowie
slowish
slow jam
slow lane
slow lemur
slow light
slow loris
slowly
slow march
slow-march
slow match
slow motion
slo-mo
slow-moving
slowness
slow news day
slow off the mark
slow on the uptake
slow oven
slow-paced
slowpitch
slow pitch
slowplay
slowpoke
slow roll
slow slicing
slowsome
slow speed control
slow steaming
slow street
slow study
slowtard
slow television
slowth
slow time
slow train
slow TV
slow-walk
slow wheel
slow-witted
slowworm
superslow
ultraslow
Related terms: word: move slowly