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Slacken   /slˈækən/   Listen
verb
Slacken, Slack  v. t.  
1.
To render slack; to make less tense or firm; as, to slack a rope; to slacken a bandage.
2.
To neglect; to be remiss in. (Obs.) "Slack not the pressage."
3.
To deprive of cohesion by combining chemically with water; to slake; as, to slack lime.
4.
To cause to become less eager; to repress; to make slow or less rapid; to retard; as, to slacken pursuit; to slacken industry. "Rancor for to slack." "I should be grieved, young prince, to think my presence Unbent your thoughts, and slackened 'em to arms." "In this business of growing rich, poor men should slack their pace." "With such delay Well plased, they slack their course."
5.
To cause to become less intense; to mitigate; to abate; to ease. "To respite, or deceive, or slack thy pain Of this ill mansion."
Air-slacked lime, lime slacked by exposure to the air, in consequence of the absorption of carton dioxide and water, by which it is converted into carbonate of lime and hydrate of lime.



Slacken, Slack  v. i.  (past & past part. slacked, slackened; pres. part. slacking, slackening)  
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."
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." "They will not of that firste purpose slack."



noun
Slacken  n.  (Written also slakin)  (Metal.) A spongy, semivitrifled substance which miners or smelters mix with the ores of metals to prevent their fusion.






Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48








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"Slacken" Quotes from Famous Books



... up, found the loop of the lasso, which he loosened, but did not think to slip over his head, in the confusion of his perceptions and thoughts. It was a wonder that it had not choked him, but he had fallen forward so as to slacken it. ...
— Elsie Venner • Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

... their cloven hoofs; the sun shone on their lustrous coats, and the dust which they raised ascended to their nostrils, so that after going around about twenty times, they would lean one against another, and in spite of the hissing whip which lashed their flanks, they would unmistakably slacken their pace. To encourage them, the driver who followed them, holding by the tail the nearest animal, began to sing in a joyous, quick rhythm the old ox-song: "Turn for yourselves, O oxen, turn for yourselves; measures for you, and measures for your masters." And ...
— The Works of Theophile Gautier, Volume 5 - The Romance of a Mummy and Egypt • Theophile Gautier

... as three-fourths of an inch or an inch. This, or the reverse, which we believe might happen any year, and could certainly not be detected without far more accurate observations and calculations for the mean sea-level than any hitherto made, would slacken or quicken the earth's rate as a timekeeper by one- tenth of a ...
— Discourses - Biological and Geological Essays • Thomas H. Huxley

... being driven, they are intensely suspicious, and of course frightened. They know every spot in the jungle, and are acquainted with all the paths, tracks, and open places in the forest. When they are nearing an open glade, or a road, they slacken their pace, and go slowly and warily forward, an old buck generally leading. When he has carefully reconnoitred and examined the suspected place in front, and found it clear to all appearance, they again put on the pace, and clear the ...
— Sport and Work on the Nepaul Frontier - Twelve Years Sporting Reminiscences of an Indigo Planter • James Inglis

... flag of America! Hope danced again through every heart. Some burst into tears; some laughed hysterically; some gave way to outcries and huzzas of delight. As the hours wore on, however, new causes for apprehension arose. The fire of the fort was perceived to slacken. Could it be that its brave defenders, after such a glorious struggle, had at last given in? Again hope yielded to doubt, almost to despair; the feeling was the more terrible from the late exhilaration. Already, in fancy, the enemy was seen approaching the ...
— Graham's Magazine, Vol. XXXII No. 4, April 1848 • Various


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