ˈslip(ə)rē, -ri adjective
( sometimes -er/est )
Etymology: alteration (perhaps influenced by Low German slipperig slippery) of Middle English sliper, slipper slippery, from Old English slipor; akin to Middle Low German slipper slippery, Old High German sleffar, Middle Low German slippen to slip — more at slip (slide)
1.
a. : causing one to slide or fall down
a new mountain road slippery with mud — Carleton Beals
the slippery track made walking difficult — T.E.Lawrence
b. : tending to slide from the grasp : not easily held
a running attack operated by half a dozen fast and slippery runners — Rogers Whitaker
a slippery fabric
a slippery fish
2.
a. : not firmly fixed : uncertain , unstable
to maintain his slippery position he needed more than cash, he needed prestige — G.W.Johnson
b. : not precise or fixed in meaning : ambiguous , elusive
his style is so slippery that it is hard to tell what he really believes — J.N.Leonard
the slippery term romanticism — M.W.Fishwick
3.
a. : not to be trusted : shifty , tricky
those whom he knew to be slippery and double-faced — C.G.Bowers
proved to be a slippery witness — Robert Coughlan
b. : marked by evasion, deceit, or trickery
slippery devices
slippery maneuvers
4. : immoral , wanton
slippery looks of love — James Thomson †1748