slow

UK /sləʊ/ US /sloʊ/

adj 5verb 3noun 2adv 1

Definitions

adj

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.

a slow train; a slow computer

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!"

Not happening in a short time; spread over a comparatively long time.

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: […]

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.

Of reduced intellectual capacity; not quick to comprehend.

Experienced classroom teachers are well acquainted with the attention-seeker, the shy girl, the aggressive boy, the poor concentrator, the slow student,[…]

Hey, don't yell at Homer, just because he's a little slow.

Not hasty; not tending to hurry; acting with deliberation or caution.

He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding.

And even after the emotional cast comes off, we need to be slow about getting deeply involved in a relationship again.

Behind in time; indicating a time earlier than the true time.

That clock is slow.

verb

To make (something) run, move, etc. less quickly; to reduce the speed of.

slow the process

To keep from going quickly; to hinder the progress of.

slow the traffic

To become slow; to slacken in speed; to decelerate.

After about a minute, the creek bed vomited the debris into a gently sloped meadow. Saugstad felt the snow slow and tried to keep her hands in front of her.

As he passed though the station, he slowed to yell to the signalman, Frank 'Sailor' Bridges: "Sailor - have you anything between here and Fordham? Where's the mail?" Gimbert knew the mail train was due, and he didn't want to endanger another train with his burning bomb wagon.

noun

Someone who is slow; a sluggard.

A slow song.

Collocations

(adj.)

VERBS

be, prove, seem

remain

ADV

extremely, incredibly, remarkably, very

interminably

a bit, comparatively, fairly, a little, pretty, quite, rather, relatively

agonizingly, desperately, frustratingly, painfully, tediously, tortuously

The internet connection was frustratingly slow during my important video call yesterday.

notoriously

The internet connection at the library is notoriously slow during afternoon hours.

noticeably

The old computer was noticeably slow when opening large files.

necessarily

Learning a new language is necessarily slow, but practice helps you improve every day.

PREP

My brother has always been slow at learning languages, but he finally speaks French fluently now.

(verb.)

ADV

considerably, markedly, noticeably, sharply, significantly

Traffic slowed considerably during the afternoon rush hour.

barely, hardly

The heavy traffic barely slowed our journey to the airport yesterday.

a bit, a little, slightly

gradually

deliberately

The driver deliberately slowed down when he saw the school zone ahead.

down, up

VERB + SLOW

begin to

try to

The driver tried to slow the car as it approached the busy intersection.

be expected to

Traffic is expected to slow down during the afternoon rush hour.

PHRASES

slow to a crawl/walk/snail's pace, slow to a halt/stop

Traffic slowed to a crawl during the morning rush hour.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

verb — lose velocity

verb — become slow or slower

adjective — (of business) not active or brisk

adjective — slow to learn or understand

adjective — so lacking in interest as to cause mental weariness

boring
deadening
dull
ho-hum
irksome
tedious
tiresome
wearisome

adverb — without speed (`slow' is sometimes used informally for `slow

slowly
easy
tardily

adverb — of timepieces

behind

Antonyms

Idioms & Phrases

slow up

To slow; to slow down; to decelerate.

She has been intto prison ministry work for several years and has never slowed up, but intensified her love.

slow burn

Something that emerges or unfolds slowly or gradually.

My own very personal journey into the deepest love of all – that of a parent for a child – was a slow burn. But it left me deeply connected to Milo in a way that I never imagined.

do a slow burn

To experience a gradually increasing feeling of anger or frustration; to slowly burn.

Booed for muffing an easy fly ball in a game with the Yankees, Outfielder Williams did a slow burn. By the time he made a game-saving catch, even the cheers sounded like jeers to T

slow march

A controlled walking pace in a deliberate, steady, rhythmic manner.

[T]he Rector emerged, erect as a cane, from his garden, and proceeded in slow march, his hands behind him, down the cemetery.

slow and steady wins the race

Patient work will eventually conquer any problem.

Example Bank

a slow train; a slow computer

Wiktionary

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 of

Wiktionary

slow the process

Wiktionary

slow the traffic

Wiktionary

After about a minute, the creek bed vomited the debris into a gently sloped meadow. Saugstad felt the snow slow and tried to keep her hands in front of her.

Wiktionary

Usage Notes

i Register

In some senses, slow is marked as derogatory, informal. Watch for register when choosing this word.

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