Crossword clues for slackening
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Slack \Slack\, Slacken \Slack"en\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Slacked, Slackened; p. pr. & vb. n. Slacking, Slackening.] [See Slack, a.]
To become slack; to be made less tense, firm, or rigid; to decrease in tension; as, a wet cord slackens in dry weather.
To be remiss or backward; to be negligent.
To lose cohesion or solidity by a chemical combination with water; to slake; as, lime slacks.
-
To abate; to become less violent.
Whence these raging fires Will slacken, if his breath stir not their flames.
--Milton. To lose rapidity; to become more slow; as, a current of water slackens.
To languish; to fail; to flag.
-
To end; to cease; to desist; to slake. [Obs.]
That through your death your lineage should slack.
--Chaucer.They will not of that firste purpose slack.
--Chaucer.
Wiktionary
n. The act by which something slackens; loss of speed, tautness, etc. vb. (present participle of slacken English)
WordNet
n. an occurrence of control or strength weakening; "the relaxation of requirements"; "the loosening of his grip"; "the slackening of the wind" [syn: relaxation, loosening]
Usage examples of "slackening".
And the blessed realisation that the dawn was bringing its usual slackening of the tramontane - and that the sail down to leeward was the lively.
The absence of water pouring over her and the slackening of the wind indicated a sanctu ary, and she was inside the little cave before she even realized it existed.
They hit the first heavyworlders before they had their weapons in hand, yanking them away and reversing without slackening speed.
They sailed on, the wind slackening to a gentle pressure against the sail, the skiffs speed aided more by the deep current than the wind.
The general looked the captain up and down as he came up panting, slackening his pace as he approached.
The shaft horse swung steadily beneath the bow over its head, with no thought of slackening pace and ready to put on speed when required.
It had obviously been placed there by the previous occupants of the village, and although it served no purpose that Claudia could imagine, it was no obstacle to her progress and she stepped onto it without slackening her pace.
Rather than slackening, the rain seemed to increase in tempo, and hid the sorry drowned land from them behind a glassy curtain.
I was porpoising up and down so violently that all macdonald could be feeling anyway was a constant and irregular series of alternate tightenings and slackenings of the line.