Entry Word: slippery

Function: adjective

Meaning: 1 given to acting in secret and to concealing one's intentions <a bar where a lot of slippery characters were known to hang out> — see sneaky 1
2 hard to find, capture, or isolate <a slippery concept that we had trouble understanding> — see elusive
3 having or being a surface so smooth as to make sliding or falling likely <had trouble keeping upright on the slippery ice> — see slick 1