To render slack; to make less tense or firm; as, to slack a rope; to slacken a bandage.
2.
To neglect; to be remiss in. (Obs.) "Slack not the pressage."
3.
To deprive of cohesion by combining chemically with water; to slake; as, to slack lime.
4.
To cause to become less eager; to repress; to make slow or less rapid; to retard; as, to slacken pursuit; to slacken industry. "Rancor for to slack.""I should be grieved, young prince, to think my presence Unbent your thoughts, and slackened 'em to arms.""In this business of growing rich, poor men should slack their pace.""With such delay Well plased, they slack their course."
5.
To cause to become less intense; to mitigate; to abate; to ease. "To respite, or deceive, or slack thy pain Of this ill mansion."
Air-slacked lime, lime slacked by exposure to the air, in consequence of the absorption of carton dioxide and water, by which it is converted into carbonate of lime and hydrate of lime.
Slacken, Slack v. i. (past & past part. slacked, slackened; pres. part. slacking, slackening)
1.
To become slack; to be made less tense, firm, or rigid; to decrease in tension; as, a wet cord slackens in dry weather.
2.
To be remiss or backward; to be negligent.
3.
To lose cohesion or solidity by a chemical combination with water; to slake; as, lime slacks.
4.
To abate; to become less violent. "Whence these raging fires Will slacken, if his breath stir not their flames."
5.
To lose rapidity; to become more slow; as, a current of water slackens.
6.
To languish; to fail; to flag.
7.
To end; to cease; to desist; to slake. (Obs.) "That through your death your lineage should slack.""They will not of that firste purpose slack."
noun
Slacken n. (Written also slakin) (Metal.) A spongy, semivitrifled substance which miners or smelters mix with the ores of metals to prevent their fusion.
... time began to slacken off considerably.—A large hut hospital for typhoids was built and the casualties diminished, partly because most of the Belgians had already been killed or wounded, and partly because the remaining few had not much fighting to do except hold the line behind the ... — Fanny Goes to War • Pat Beauchamp Read full book for free!
... finding great difficulty to cram his legs within. Four horses are attached to it by cords, which form the whole harness, and driven by one postilion on horseback, they set off at full speed and neither stop nor slacken their pace until they reach the next post-house. Within the distance of half a mile from it, the postilion gives warning of his approach by a repeated and great cracking of his whip, so that by the time of arrival another cart is got ready to receive ... — Roumania Past and Present • James Samuelson Read full book for free!
... said; "don't stop to take aim. They are too cowardly to risk an advance unless they see your fire begin to slacken." ... — The Downfall • Emile Zola Read full book for free!
... full speed, his glossy coat dripping with perspiration, his nostrils widely distended and showing red with blood. But his pace began to slacken. Darkness gathered before the eyes of Calhoun. "Why, it's getting night," he murmured; "Fred, where are you?" Lower still lower he sank, until he was once more grasping the neck of his horse. A deadly faintness seized him, total darkness was around him, and he ... — Raiding with Morgan • Byron A. Dunn Read full book for free!
... time he must answer. Hoping that chance would favour him, he adopted an expedient to gain time. He let Mme. de Combray hear that Lefebre had fainted during an examination, and was not in a condition to write. But she did not slacken her correspondence, and wrote several letters daily to the lawyer, which greatly increased ... — The House of the Combrays • G. le Notre Read full book for free!
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