from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Slippery \Slip"per*y\, a. [See {Slipper}, a.]
1. Having the quality opposite to adhesiveness; allowing or
causing anything to slip or move smoothly, rapidly, and
easily upon the surface; smooth; glib; as, oily substances
render things slippery.
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2. Not affording firm ground for confidence; as, a slippery
promise.
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The slippery tops of human state. --Cowley.
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3. Not easily held; liable or apt to slip away.
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The slippery god will try to loose his hold.
--Dryden.
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4. Liable to slip; not standing firm. --Shak.
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5. Unstable; changeable; mutable; uncertain; inconstant;
fickle. "The slippery state of kings." --Denham.
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6. Uncertain in effect. --L'Estrange.
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7. Wanton; unchaste; loose in morals. --Shak.
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{Slippery elm}. (Bot.)
(a) An American tree ({Ulmus fulva}) with a mucilagenous
and slightly aromatic inner bark which is sometimes
used medicinally; also, the inner bark itself.
(b) A malvaceous shrub ({Fremontia Californica}); -- so
called on the Pacific coast.
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