adj to be remiss or backward; to be negligent.
2. slacken ·vt to neglect; to be remiss in.
3. slacken ·adj to abate; to become less violent.
4. slacken ·adj to lose rapidity; to become more slow; as, a current of water slackens.
5. slacken ·vt to render slack; to make less tense or firm; as, to slack a rope; to slacken a bandage.
6. slacken ·adj to languish; to fail; to flag.
7. slacken ·vt to deprive of cohesion by combining chemically with water; to slake; as, to slack lime.
8. slacken ·noun a spongy, semivitrifled substance which miners or smelters mix with the ores of metals to prevent their fusion.
9. slacken ·adj to lose cohesion or solidity by a chemical combination with water; to slake; as, lime slacks.
10. slacken ·adj to become slack; to be made less tense, firm, or rigid; to decrease in tension; as, a wet cord slackens in dry weather.
11. slacken ·adj to end; to cease; to desist; to slake.
12. slacken ·vt to cause to become less intense; to mitigate; to abate; to ease.
13. slacken ·vt to cause to become less eager; to repress; to make slow or less rapid; to retard; as, to slacken pursuit; to slacken industry.