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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



... discuss religion in Russia is far from agreeable. "It is," he says, "as if a master, pretending to exhibit his skill in racing, were to enter into competition publicly with his slave ... and at the same time wink at him to slacken his speed." Of one thing he is certain: Judaism is a progressive religion. It had been and might be reformed from time to time, but this can and must be only along the lines of its own genius. To improve the moral and material condition ...
— The Haskalah Movement in Russia • Jacob S. Raisin
... his daily work With confident and cheerful thoughts; and now Sometimes when he could find a leisure hour 440 He to that valley took his way, and there Wrought at the Sheep-fold. Meantime Luke began To slacken in his duty; and, at length, He in the dissolute city gave himself To evil courses: ignominy and shame 445 Fell on him, so that he was driven at last To seek a hiding place ...
— Selections from Wordsworth and Tennyson • William Wordsworth and Alfred Lord Tennyson
... breathing time; halt, stay, pause &c. (cessation) 142; respite. day of rest, dies non, Sabbath, Lord's day, holiday, red-letter day, vacation, recess. V. repose; rest, rest and be thankful; take a rest, take one's ease, take it easy. relax, unbend, slacken; take breath &c. (refresh) 689; rest upon one's oars; pause &c. (cease) 142; stay one's hand. lie down; recline, recline on a bed of down, recline on an easy chair; go to rest, go to bed, go to sleep &c. 683. take a holiday, shut up shop; lie fallow &c. (inaction) ...
— Roget's Thesaurus
... article more easily procured. Fig. 177 illustrates how a frame of this kind may be prepared with warp-threads for weaving. One with the screw side pieces is the best, for these enable the tension of the warp to be slightly adjusted if the working shows any tendency to slacken the thread. ...
— Embroidery and Tapestry Weaving • Grace Christie
... wraps, much as if she had been a valuable painting, or a choice bit of sculpture, and taking her hand, led her gently down the long stairway to the street. Then, lifting her into the sleigh, and tucking the bear skin about her, he drove briskly over the road toward home, not allowing the horse to slacken pace until ...
— Randy and Her Friends • Amy Brooks


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