EN

Synonyms for slack

48 synonyms
13 antonyms
6 meanings

adjective
noun
verb

Most common

slow careless lazy weak lax loose

Synonyms by meaning

Adjective

1. Slow — not active or busy, successful, or violent

slow, careless, lazy, weak, dull, remiss, negligent, sloppy, tardy, sluggish, shiftless, slothful, easy, moderate, inactive, lethargic, limp, backward, dilatory, regardless, damp, torpid

2. Lax — lax; not tense; not firmly extended

lax, loose, baggy

Other

standing, easy-going

Noun

1. Morass

morass, mire, quagmire, quag dated

2. Drop-off

fall-off, drop-off, slump

Other

slackness, slow-down, let-up, slough, culm

Verb

1. Slacken

slacken, slow up informal, loll

2. Slake

Other

relax, die away, lollygag US, mitigate

Antonyms

diligent, stiff, taut

All antonyms of slack →

Definitions

adj. 1
Lax; not tense; not firmly extended.
adj. 2
Not active or busy, successful, or violent.
the slack period following the main tourist season
n. 1
The part of anything that hangs loose, having no strain upon it.
the slack of a rope or of a sail
v. 1
To slacken.

Related words

Word family: slacken slack-jawed slackly slackness slacktivism slacktivist
Phrases: slack off slack up

Forms

Plural: slacks → morasses, mires, quagmires, quags…
Past participle: slacked
e.g. slacked → slackened, lolled, slaked, abated…

Choose the right word

Slack or Sluggish?

Slack refers to action that seems to indicate a lack of tension, as of muscle or of will, sluggish to action that seems as if reluctant to advance.

J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)

Example sentences

slow He who is slow to promise is best in keeping them.
lazy Tom is by no means unintelligent. He is just lazy.
careless It is very careless of you to leave the door open.
sloppy I know Tom is a fast worker, but he does sloppy work.

Popularity over time

Word	1850 → 2019	Trend
slack		steady
slow		steady
lazy		rising
careless		steady
sloppy		rising

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

3 letters: lax¹
4 letters: easy², slow¹, weak¹, lazy², dull¹, damp¹, limp¹, mire¹, loll¹, culm, quag
5 letters: loose¹, relax², slump¹, baggy², tardy², abate², slake
6 letters: sloppy², slough¹, remiss², morass², torpid²
7 letters: slacken²
8 letters: standing², moderate³, backward², careless², inactive³, mitigate³, sluggish², quagmire³, slothful, dilatory⁴, lollygag
9 letters: negligent³, lethargic³, shiftless², slackness²
10 letters: regardless³

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (easy² = 2 syllables).