slippery

adjective

slip·pery ˈsli-p(ə-)rē

slipperier; slipperiest

Synonyms of slippery next

: causing or tending to cause something to slide or fall

slippery roads

: tending to slip from the grasp

a slippery fish

: not firmly fixed : unstable

: not precise or fixed in meaning : ambiguous, elusive

: not to be trusted : tricky

slipperiness noun

Examples of slippery in a Sentence

The trails were muddy and slippery. Fish are slippery to hold. The sign cautions: “Slippery when wet.”

Recent Examples on the Web For frequent exposure to slippery ice, outsoles with a rugged tread and plenty of grip are essential. —

Jessica MacDonald, Travel + Leisure, 21 Nov. 2023 After all, Hollywood’s elite are slippery as eels in the wild, busy people with things to do and places — most often away from bright red tour buses — to be. —

Adam Tschorn, Los Angeles Times, 16 Nov. 2023 Caswell keeps things slippery, right down to his title. —

Sara Holdren, Vulture, 16 Nov. 2023 Lipa invited hundreds of her biggest fans to the mysterious Houdini Estate in the winding hills of Laurel Canyon Boulevard on Tuesday night to navigate an escape room (fitting for the famous illusionist and the slippery new song) and to dance the night away at an open-air disco party. —

Katie Atkinson, Billboard, 15 Nov. 2023 The only slippery banana on the show is the superpowers. —

Jennifer Maas, Variety, 3 Nov. 2023 When the slippery property developer Clipboard (Harris) turns up and dazzles the parents of the area with promises of health spas and day-care facilities, Robin and The Hoods’ world is faced with an existential threat. —

Alex Ritman, The Hollywood Reporter, 1 Nov. 2023 The world is slippery, and nothing, not even words as concrete and precisely chosen as his, could capture it in full. —

Clay Risen, New York Times, 11 Nov. 2023 Cons Despite its anti-slip backing, the surface material feels silky soft and could feel slippery when walking with socks on. —

Jessie Quinn, Peoplemag, 7 Nov. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'slippery.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

slipper entry 1 + -y entry 1

Note: As the earliest occurrence of slippery appears to be in the Coverdale Bible (1535, Psalm 35:6), it has been suggested that the addition of the suffix -y to the adjective slipper copies German schlipfferig in Luther's translation of the same passage (1534, present-day German schlüpfrig). The German word is ultimately from the same Germanic base as slip entry 5 (see Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology).

First Known Use

circa 1500, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler

The first known use of slippery was circa 1500

See more words from the same year