dictionary definitions for "slippery"


From WordNet (r) 2.0 (August 2003) [wn]:

  slippery
      adj 1: being such as to cause things to slip or slide; "slippery
             sidewalks"; "a slippery bar of soap"; "the streets are
             still slippy from the rain" [syn: slippy] [ant:
             nonslippery]
      2: not to be trusted; "how extraordinarily slippery a liar the
         camera is"- James Agee; "they called Reagan the teflon
         president because mud never stuck to him" [syn: tricky,
         teflon]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Slippery \Slip"per*y\, a. [See Slipper, a.]
     1. Having the quality opposite to adhesiveness; allowing or
        causing anything to slip or move smoothly, rapidly, and
        easily upon the surface; smooth; glib; as, oily substances
        render things slippery.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. Not affording firm ground for confidence; as, a slippery
        promise.
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              The slippery tops of human state.     --Cowley.
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     3. Not easily held; liable or apt to slip away.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              The slippery god will try to loose his hold.
                                                    --Dryden.
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     4. Liable to slip; not standing firm. --Shak.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     5. Unstable; changeable; mutable; uncertain; inconstant;
        fickle. "The slippery state of kings." --Denham.
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     6. Uncertain in effect. --L'Estrange.
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     7. Wanton; unchaste; loose in morals. --Shak.
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     Slippery elm. (Bot.)
        (a) An American tree (Ulmus fulva) with a mucilagenous
            and slightly aromatic inner bark which is sometimes
            used medicinally; also, the inner bark itself.
        (b) A malvaceous shrub (Fremontia Californica); -- so
            called on the Pacific coast.
            [1913 Webster]


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