slick

CEFRC1

/slɪk/

adjective

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    adjective

    Smooth and slippery; clever but not sincere.

  2. 02

    adjective

    Extra detail

    Appearing expensive or sophisticated.

Examples

  • The statues in the museum courtyard were slick with rain.

  • Don't swallow that slick propaganda.

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
5
Synonyms
3

Deep Dive

adjective

Extra meanings

  1. Sleek; smooth.

  2. Slippery or smooth due to a covering of liquid; often used to describe appearances.

  3. Superficially convincing but actually untrustworthy.

More examples

In context

  • Watch your step! It's slick out!

  • His large round head was shaved slick.

  • The top coating of lacquer gives this finish a slick look.

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

After the rain, the road became extremely blank and dangerous to drive on.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

adjective

From Middle English slicke, slike, slyke, from Old English slīc (“sleek, smooth; crafty, cunning, slick”), from Proto-Germanic *slīkaz (“sleek, smooth”), from Proto-Indo-European *sleyg-, *sleyǵ- (“to glide, smooth, spread”). Akin to Dutch sluik, dialectal Dutch sleek (“even, smooth”), Old Norse slíkr (“sleek, smooth”), Old English slician (“to make sleek, smooth, or glossy”).