I. ˈslō adjective
( -er/-est )
Etymology: Middle English slow, slaw, from Old English slāw, slǣw; akin to Old Saxon slēu blunt, dull, weak, slow, Old High German slēo blunt, dull, Old Norse sljōr, slær blunt, weak, Sanskrit srēvayati he causes to fail
1.
a. : not quick in apprehending or comprehending : mentally dull : stupid
a slow student
a slow mind
offers slow or retarded boys an adjusted program of education — advt
the slow learner, properly defined, is neither mentally nor emotionally retarded — Agnes Bass
b. : naturally inert or sluggish
a slow imagination
2.
a. : lacking in readiness, promptness, or willingness : manifesting dilatoriness or extreme deliberation — often used with in, of, to
they had been far too slow in giving the colonies their independence — Hugh Gaitskell
an unimaginative man, slow of comprehension — Times Literary Supplement
many industries … have been slow to develop the full value of research — Defense Against Recession
b. : not hasty or precipitate : not quickly aroused or excited
slow to speak ill of a person — F.E.Ross
a slow theater audience
3.
a. : moving, flowing, or proceeding without rapidity or at less than the usual speed
a slow stream
a slow train
the robin has been mentioned as a slow migrant — F.C.Lincoln
b. : exhibiting or characterized by retarded motion or speed
a slow advance
slow marching
slow music
a slow pace
slow progress
a slow pulse
a slow tempo
a slow walk
c. : not acute
a slow disease
d.
(1) : low , gentle
a slow fire
(2) : heated to a relatively low baking temperature — compare slow oven
4. : not happening in a short time : requiring a comparatively great length of time
a slow convalescence
a slow growth
a slow process
5.
a. : having qualities that hinder or prohibit rapidity of movement, play, or action
a slow track is one in which the drying-out process has progressed to the stage where the footing is soft — Dan Parker
her feet would sop in and out of the slow mire — Elizabeth M. Roberts
a slow putting green
b. of a wicket : in such condition that a bowled cricket ball does not rebound with speed and liveliness — contrasted with fast
c. : not operating, taking effect, or responding to treatment immediately or quickly
a slow filter
a slow influence
a slow poison
d. : contributing to a lengthening of exposure time — used of a photographic lens or material
e. : draining slowly : wet — used of paper pulp; compare free 20a
6.
a. : registering behind or below what is correct
a slow clock
a slow meter
slow scales
a slow taximeter
b. : that is less than the time indicated by another method of reckoning
standard time is an hour slower than daylight-saving time
c. : that is behind the time with regard to a specified time or place
local time (6 hrs. 36 min. 46.67 secs. slow on Greenwich mean time) — G.B. & Charlotte L. Dyer
Washington is several hours slow on London
7.
a. : lacking in life, animation, or gaiety : boring
somebody who's … so gay and daring that she'll think I'm slow — Sinclair Lewis
things were slow around Times Square — Herbert Mitgang
b. : slowgoing , unprogressive
a slow town
c. : marked by reduced sales or patronage : not brisk : slack
business here is a little slow in summer — W.L.Gresham
September is always a slow month — Mary Jane Rolfs
diamonds were particularly slow — Minerals Yrbk.
slow sales
8. : not steep : gradual
a slow taper
a slow spiral
party climbed the comparatively slow ascent — Frank Debenham
Synonyms:
slow , dilatory , laggard , deliberate , and leisurely can apply to persons who take a longer time than is necessary, or sometimes desirable, to perform action or an action. slow , wide in its range of application, can apply to anything that is the opposite of quick
a slow fuse
a slow walker
sometimes suggesting a more or less discreditable cause
a slow careless worker
slow wits
slow in getting results
or extreme care
slow craftsmanship, careful and particular
or a natural tempo
slow growth
a slow convalescence
or a falling behind because of defect or difficulty
a slow watch
a slow train, held up by a storm
dilatory implies slowness resulting from inertia, procrastination, or indifference
though dilatory in undertaking business, he was quick in its execution — Jane Austen
the trial must not be protracted in duration by anything that is obstructive or dilatory — R.H.Jackson
laggard , more censorious than dilatory , implies failure to do things on time or to observe a demand promptly, implying loitering or a wasting of time
in its coverage of spot news events, radio has been especially laggard — R.H.Rovere
a pupil laggard in getting assignments completed
her body slender and motionless for a moment as though waiting for some laggard part to catch up — William Faulkner
deliberate suggests absence of hurry or agitation, or a slowness that is the result of care or calculation
swung his axe steadily, with the deliberate measured strokes of a skilled woodsman — C.B.Nordhoff & J.N.Hall
proceeding in the most deliberate and orderly manner — T.S.Eliot
had been hurrying everyone since the first streak of light, suddenly became deliberate — Willa Cather
leisurely also implies lack of hurry but suggests rather no pressure of time
moving at a casual, almost leisurely pace — Time
the mild wind and the blue skies with the leisurely clouds tenting among them — J.H.Wheelwright
II. adverb
( -er/-est )
: slowly
how slow time goes — Shakespeare
I am going slow until I am really on my feet again — H.J.Laski
I would go pretty slow on that — F.D.Roosevelt
the engine is idling a trifle slow — Walt Waron
III. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
transitive verb
: to make slow : slacken the speed of : retard
investors were slowing the market — Time
the dirt track slowed his pace — Current Biography
— often used with up or down
a sudden storm will … only temporarily slow down the movement of a freight train — J.N.Efferson
reader is slowed up by a stream of long words — Milton Hall
intransitive verb
: to go slower : become slower
the river … slows on the flat bottom — Alexander Marshack
the production of such vehicles slowed a bit — A.F.Harlow
— often used with up or down
go all day at high speed, begin to slow up in the evening — R.S.Rubinow
his doctor told him to slow down — New York Times
Synonyms: see delay
IV. noun
( -s )
: one that is slow