slacken
/ˈslæ.kən/verb
slacken is spelled S-L-A-C-K-E-N: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 10 million words in written English, the 94,827th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, slacken means “To gradually decrease in intensity or tautness; to become slack; to lag” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in slacken?
| Letters | 7: S-L-A-C-K-E-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 10 million words; the 94,827th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is slacken?
Slacken appears about once in every 10 million words in written English, the 94,827th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce slacken?
- /ˈslæ.kən/
Slacken has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-slacken.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of slacken
- slackens present, singular, he/she/it
- slackening participle, present
- slackened participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does slacken mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To gradually decrease in intensity or tautness; to become slack; to lag.
The pace slackened.
- 2
To make slack, less taut, or less intense.
slacken the rope
- 3
To deprive of cohesion by combining chemically with water; to slake.
to slacken lime
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Slacken in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense (intransitive) to gradually decrease in intensity:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | entspannen |
| Portuguese | afrouxar |
| Spanish | aflojar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does slacken come from?
From Middle English slakenen, equivalent to slack + -en.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).