SLEEK


Meaning of SLEEK in English

I. sleek 1 /sliːk/ BrE AmE adjective

[ Date: 1500-1600 ; Origin: ↑ slick 1 ]

1 . a vehicle or other object that is sleek has a smooth attractive shape:

the sleek lines of the new Mercedes

2 . sleek hair or fur is straight, shiny, and healthy-looking

3 . someone who is sleek looks rich and is well dressed

—sleekly adverb

—sleekness noun [uncountable]

• • •

THESAURUS

▪ shiny looking bright and smooth, and reflecting light:

Her hair was now washed and shiny.

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A shiny limousine pulled in front of the building.

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His face was shiny with sweat.

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shiny metal objects

▪ glossy used about hair or fur that looks shiny and healthy. Glossy magazines and books use expensive shiny paper:

My hair seemed much thicker and more glossy.

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His fur is all glossy.

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The plant's leaves were still glossy.

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He was flicking through a glossy magazine.

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glossy brochures advertising skiing vacations

▪ sleek shiny and smooth in a way that looks very attractive – used especially about hair, fur, a car or machine, or about someone's body :

the cat's sleek fur

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His sleek dark-blue Mercedes was parked outside.

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I looked at the sleek brown bodies resting beside the pool.

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the sleek lines of a Bang and Olufsen television

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A small jet waited like a sleek silver bird beside the runway.

▪ silky very soft and smooth to touch, like silk – used about hair, fur, skin, or material:

Her skirt and jacket were made of smooth, silky fabric.

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Fernando stroked her silky hair and kissed her forehead.

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her silky skin

▪ gleaming very shiny and clean – used especially about something that has just been polished:

A gleaming motorcycle stood parked outside the bar.

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his gleaming white teeth

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gleaming black shoes

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The tourist brochures show gleaming white sand.

▪ glistening literary something that is glistening is shiny, especially because it is wet:

her glistening eyes

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I recognized his dark glistening skin.

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We stared at the glistening expanse of the sea.

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the glistening white of the dome

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the glistening black heads of the seals

▪ lustrous literary shining in a soft gentle way – used about hair, eyes, lips, or material:

Her hair was thick and lustrous.

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His eyes were dark and lustrous.

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her lustrous lips

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the fabric's smooth lustrous surface

▪ polished polished shoes, floors, tables etc are shiny because they have been rubbed until they shine:

a highly polished floor

II. sleek 2 BrE AmE verb [transitive always + adverb/preposition]

to make hair or fur smooth and shiny by putting water or oil on it

sleek something back/down etc

His hair was sleeked back with oil.

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English.      Longman - Словарь современного английского языка.