Definition of slacken
- a. - To become slack; to be made less tense, firm, or rigid; to
decrease in tension; as, a wet cord slackens in dry weather.
- a. - To be remiss or backward; to be negligent.
- a. - To lose cohesion or solidity by a chemical combination
with water; to slake; as, lime slacks.
- a. - To abate; to become less violent.
- a. - To lose rapidity; to become more slow; as, a current of
water slackens.
- a. - To languish; to fail; to flag.
- a. - To end; to cease; to desist; to slake.
- v. t. - To render slack; to make less tense or firm; as, to
slack a rope; to slacken a bandage.
- v. t. - To neglect; to be remiss in.
- v. t. - To deprive of cohesion by combining chemically with
water; to slake; as, to slack lime.
- v. t. - To cause to become less eager; to repress; to make slow
or less rapid; to retard; as, to slacken pursuit; to slacken industry.
- v. t. - To cause to become less intense; to mitigate; to abate;
to ease.
- n. - A spongy, semivitrifled substance which miners or smelters
mix with the ores of metals to prevent their fusion.