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slippery

 - 3 dictionary results

slip⋅per⋅y

  [slip-uh-ree, slip-ree]
Use slippery in a Sentence
–adjective, -per⋅i⋅er, -per⋅i⋅est.
1. tending or liable to cause slipping or sliding, as ice, oil, a wet surface, etc.: a slippery road.
2. tending to slip from the hold or grasp or from position: a slippery rope.
3. likely to slip away or escape: slippery prospects.
4. not to be depended on; fickle; shifty, tricky, or deceitful.
5. unstable or insecure, as conditions: a slippery situation.
Origin:
1525–35; alter. of slipper 2 ; cf. LG slipperig; see -y 1

Related forms:
slip⋅per⋅i⋅ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To slippery
slip·per·y   (slĭp'ə-rē)   
adj.   slip·per·i·er, slip·per·i·est

  1. Causing or tending to cause sliding or slipping: a slippery sidewalk.

  2. Tending to slip, as from one's grasp: a slippery bar of soap.

  3. Not trustworthy; elusive or tricky: "How extraordinarily slippery a liar the camera is" (James Agee).


[Alteration of obsolete slipper, from Middle English, from Old English slipor; see lei- in Indo-European roots.]
slip'per·i·ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

slippery 
1535, from slip (v.) (cf. O.E. slipor "slippery"). Metaphoric sense of "deceitful" is first recorded 1555; slippery slope first attested 1951.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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