Slippery
adj ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 Of a surface, having low friction, often due to being covered in a non-viscous liquid, and therefore hard to grip, hard to stand on without falling, etc.
"Oily substances render things slippery."
- 2 Evasive; difficult to pin down. broadly, figuratively
"a slippery person"
- 3 Liable to slip; not standing firm. obsolete
"Which when they fall, as being slippery standers, / The love that leaned on them, as slippery too, / Do one pluck down another, and together / Die in the fall."
- 4 Unstable; changeable; inconstant.
"He looking down With scorn or pity on the slippery state Of kings, will tread upon the neck of fate."
- 5 Wanton; unchaste; loose in morals. obsolete
"My wife is slippery? If thou wilt confess –"
- 1 causing or tending to cause things to slip or slide wordnet
- 2 not to be trusted wordnet
Example
More examples"The politician is as slippery as an eel!"
Etymology
From Middle English slipperie, an extended form ( + -y) of Middle English slipper, sliper (“slippery”), from Old English slipor (“slippery”), from Proto-Germanic *slipraz (“smooth, slippery”), equivalent to slip + -er. Compare also Middle English slibbri, slubbri (“slippery”) borrowed from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German slibberich (“slippery”). Cognate with German schlüpfrig (“slippery”), Danish slibrig (“slippery”), Swedish slipprig (“slippery”).
Related phrases
More for "slippery"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.