English adjective: slow | |||
1. | slow not moving quickly; taking a comparatively long time | ||
Samples | A slow walker. The slow lane of traffic. Her steps were slow. He was slow in reacting to the news. Slow but steady growth. | ||
Similar | bumper-to-bumper, dilatory, drawn-out, laggard, lazy, long-play, long-playing, pokey, poky, slow-moving, sluggish, sulky | ||
See also | gradual, unhurried | ||
Attribute | fastness, speed, swiftness | ||
Antonyms | fast | ||
2. | slow at a slow tempo | ||
Samples | The band played a slow waltz. | ||
Similar | adagio, andante, larghetto, larghissimo, largo, lentissimo, lento, moderato | ||
Domain category | music | ||
Antonyms | fast | ||
3. | slow slow to learn or understand; lacking intellectual acuity | ||
Samples | So dense he never understands anything I say to him. Never met anyone quite so dim. Although dull at classical learning, at mathematics he was uncommonly quick. Dumb officials make some really dumb decisions. He was either normally stupid or being deliberately obtuse. Worked with the slow students. | ||
Synonyms | dense, dim, dull, dumb, obtuse | ||
Similar | stupid | ||
Antonyms | smart | ||
4. | slow (used of timepieces) indicating a time earlier than the correct time | ||
Samples | The clock is slow. | ||
Antonyms | fast | ||
5. | slow so lacking in interest as to cause mental weariness | ||
Samples | A boring evening with uninteresting people. The deadening effect of some routine tasks. A dull play. His competent but dull performance. A ho-hum speaker who couldn't capture their attention. What an irksome task the writing of long letters is. Tedious days on the train. The tiresome chirping of a cricket. Other people's dreams are dreadfully wearisome. | ||
Synonyms | boring, deadening, dull, ho-hum, irksome, tedious, tiresome, wearisome | ||
Similar | uninteresting | ||
Antonyms | interesting | ||
6. | slow (of business) not active or brisk | ||
Samples | Business is dull (or slow). A sluggish market. | ||
Synonyms | dull, sluggish | ||
Similar | inactive | ||
Domain category | business, business enterprise, commercial enterprise | ||
Antonyms | active | ||
English adverb: slow | |||
1. | slow without speed (`slow' is sometimes used informally for `slowly') | ||
Samples | He spoke slowly. Go easy here--the road is slippery. Glaciers move tardily. Please go slow so I can see the sights. | ||
Synonyms | easy, slowly, tardily | ||
Domain usage | colloquialism | ||
Antonyms | apace, chop-chop, quickly, rapidly, speedily | ||
2. | slow of timepieces | ||
Samples | The clock is almost an hour slow. My watch is running behind. | ||
Synonyms | behind | ||
English verb: slow | |||
1. | slow (change) lose velocity; move more slowly | ||
Samples | The car decelerated. | ||
Synonyms | decelerate, retard, slow down, slow up | ||
Pattern of use | Something ----s. Somebody ----s. Somebody ----s something. Something ----s something | ||
Broader (hypernym) | decrease, diminish, fall, lessen | ||
Narrower (hyponym) | delay, detain, hold up, slow, slow down, slow up | ||
Antonyms | accelerate, quicken, speed up, speed | ||
2. | slow (change) become slow or slower | ||
Samples | Production slowed. | ||
Synonyms | slack, slacken, slow down, slow up | ||
Pattern of use | Something ----s. Somebody ----s | ||
Broader (hypernym) | weaken | ||
3. | slow (change) cause to proceed more slowly | ||
Samples | The illness slowed him down. | ||
Synonyms | slow down, slow up | ||
Pattern of use | Somebody ----s something. Somebody ----s somebody. Something ----s somebody. Something ----s something | ||
Broader (hypernym) | decelerate, retard, slow, slow down, slow up | ||
Narrower (hyponym) | bog, bog down, clog, constipate | ||