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slick

UK/slɪk/ US/ˈslɪk/ fairly common slang us
noun (4) adjective (4) verb (2)

noun

1.

a slippery smoothness

  • “he could feel the slickness of the tiller”
Synonyms
2.
3.

a film of oil or garbage floating on top of water

4.

a trowel used to make a surface slick

adjective

1.

having a smooth, gleaming surface

  • “glossy auburn hair”
  • “satiny gardenia petals”
  • “sleek black fur”
  • “silken eyelashes”
  • “silky skin”
  • “a silklike fabric”
  • “slick seals and otters”
Synonyms
Similar
2.

made slick by e.g. ice or grease

  • “sidewalks slick with ice”
  • “roads are slickest when rain has just started and hasn”
Similar
3.

having only superficial plausibility

  • “glib promises”
  • “a slick commercial”
Synonyms
Similar
4.

marked by skill in deception

  • “cunning men often pass for wise”
  • “deep political machinations”
  • “a foxy scheme”
  • “a slick evasive answer”
  • “sly as a fox”
  • “tricky Dick”
  • “a wily old attorney”
Synonyms
Similar

verb

1.

make slick or smooth

Synonyms
2.

give a smooth and glossy appearance

  • “slick one”
Synonyms

Origin

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”).

Phrases

  • big slick
  • little slick
  • oil slick
  • slick as a whistle
  • slick Rick
  • Slick Willie

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.