slow

English

Wikipedia

Etymology

Old English slāw

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /sləʊ/, SAMPA: /sl@U/
• (US) IPA: /sloʊ/, SAMPA: /sloU/

• Audio (US)

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• Audio (UK)

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• Rhymes: -əʊ

Adjective

slow (comparative slower, superlative slowest)

1. 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

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

   These changes in the heavens, though slow, produced Like change on sea and land, sidereal blast. --Milton

3. Of reduced intellectual capacity; not quick to comprehend.

   John is very slow; he is ten seconds behind everybody else when it comes to math.

4. Not hasty; not precipitate; lacking in promptness; acting with deliberation.

   He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding. --Prov. xiv. 29.

5. (of a clock or the like) Behind in time; indicating a time earlier than the true time.

   That clock is slow.

6. (computing, of a piece of hardware) That takes a long time to transfer data.
7. Lacking spirit; deficient in liveliness or briskness.
8. (of a period of time) Not busy; lacking activity.

   It was a slow news day, so the editor asked us to make our articles wordier.

   I'm just sitting here with a desk of cards, enjoying a slow afternoon.

Synonyms

• See also Wikisaurus:slow
• (taking a long time to move a short distance): deliberate; moderate
• (not happening in a short time): gradual
• (of reduced intellectual capacity): dull-witted
• (acting with deliberation): dilatory, inactive, tardy, slothful, sluggish
• (lacking spirit): boring, dull

Antonyms

• (taking a long time to move a short distance): fast, quick, rapid, swift
• (of reduced intellectual capacity): prompt, quick
• (acting with deliberation): hasty, precipitate, prompt
• (lacking spirit): brisk, lively

Derived terms

Terms derived from "slow"

slow motion, slo-mo slow-belly slow burn

slowish slowly slowness

slowpoke

Translations

not quick in motion

American Sign Language: OpenB@BackHand-PalmDown OpenB@BackWrist-PalmDown Arabic: بطيء (ar) (baTii') Armenian: դանդաղ (hy) (dandaġ) Catalan: lent (ca) Chamicuro: yakameleste Chinese: Mandarin: 慢 (cmn) (màn) Czech: pomalý (cs) m. Danish: langsom (da) Dutch: traag (nl), langzaam (nl), sloom (nl) Esperanto: malrapida Finnish: hidas (fi) French: lent (fr) m., lente (fr) f. German: langsam (de) Greek: αργός (el) (argós) m., βραδύς (el) (vradís) m. Hebrew: לאט (he) (la’át) Hindi: धीमा (hi) (dhīmā), सुस्त (hi) (sust) Hungarian: lassú (hu) Ido: lenta (io) Indonesian: lambat (id), pelan (id), perlahan (id) Italian: lento (it) m., lenta (it) f. Japanese: 遅い (ja) (おそい, osoi), ゆっくり (ja) (yukkuri), 鈍足 (ja) (どんそく, donsoku)

Korean: 느린 (ko) (neurin) Kurdish: Sorani: له‌سه‌ر خۆ (ku) (leser xo), هێواش (ku) (héwash) Latin: lentus (la) Luxembourgish: lues (lb) Navajo: chʼééh Norwegian: langsom (no) m. and f., langsomt (no) n., langsomme (no) pl. Persian: آهسته (fa) (âheste) Polish: wolny (pl), powolny (pl) Portuguese: lento (pt), devagar (pt) Romanian: încet (ro) Russian: медленный (ru) (médlennyj) Scottish Gaelic: mall (gd), slaodach (gd) Slovak: pomalý (sk) Spanish: lento (es) Swahili: pole (sw), aste (sw) Swedish: långsam (sv) Telugu: నిదానము (nidaanamu) Turkish: yavaş (tr) Ukrainian: повільний (uk) (povíl'nyj) Volapük: nevifik (vo) Welsh: araf (cy)

spread over a comparatively long time

American Sign Language: OpenB@BackHand-PalmDown OpenB@BackWrist-PalmDown Czech: pomalý (cs) m.

Finnish: hidas (fi) Greek: αργόσυρτος (argósirtos) m. Swahili: pole (sw), aste (sw)

of reduced intellectual capacity

Czech: pomalý (cs) m. Dutch: langzaam, langzame, sloom, slome Finnish: hidas (fi) German: dumm (de) Greek: καθυστερημένος (el) (kathisteriménos) m., αργόστροφος (el) (argóstrofos) m.

Italian: tardo (it) m., tarda (it) f. Japanese: とろい (ja) (toroi) Latin: tardus (la) Swahili: pole (sw), aste (sw)

lacking in promptness; acting with deliberation

Finnish: hidas (fi) Greek: ανέτοιμος (el) (anétimos) m.

Swahili: pole (sw), aste (sw)

behind in time

Finnish: jätättää (fi) (verb), jäljessä (fi) (adverb) Greek: καθυστερημένος (kathisteriménos) m.

Swahili: pole (sw), aste (sw)

lacking spirit; boring

Finnish: hidas (fi) Swahili: pole (sw), aste (sw)

Ukrainian: нудний (uk) (nudnýj)

not busy

Verb

slow (third-person singular simple present slows, present participle slowing, simple past and past participle slowed)

1. (transitive) To make (something) run, move, etc. less quickly; to reduce the speed of.
2. (transitive) To keep from going quickly; to hinder the progress of.
3. (intransitive) To become slow; to slacken in speed; to decelerate.

Synonyms

• (keep from going quickly): delay, hinder, retard
• (become slow): decelerate, slacken

Derived terms

• slower
• slow up
• slow down

Translations

to reduce the speed of

Dutch: vertragen, ophouden Finnish: hidastaa (fi) French: ralentir (fr), freiner (fr)

Greek: βραδύνω (el) (vradíno), σταματώ (el) (stamató) Swahili: pole (sw), aste (sw)

to keep from going quickly, to delay

Swahili: pole (sw), aste (sw)

to become slow

Finnish: hidastua (fi) Greek: αργώ (argó)

Swahili: pole (sw), aste (sw)

Noun

slow

1. Someone who is slow; a sluggard.
2. (music) A slow song.

Adverb

slow

1. (rare) Slowly (usually in combinations).

   That clock is running slow.

Anagrams

• lows
• owls
• sowl

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French

Etymology

From English

Noun

slow m. (plural slows)

1. slow waltz

See also

• quick