slacken
/ˈslæ.kən/
"slacken" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“slacken” is an uncommon English word, ranked #95,423 in English word frequency and used as a verb.
- #95,423
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To gradually decrease in intensity or tautness; to become slack; to lag.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | slacken |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ˈslæ.kən/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #95,423 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “slacken” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for slacken is 7 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈslæ.kən/. Corpus data places it at rank #95,423 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
slacken doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English slakenen, equivalent to slack + -en. The correct English form is slacken, spelled S-L-A-C-K-E-N.
Definition
- 1To gradually decrease in intensity or tautness; to become slack; to lag.
- 2To make slack, less taut, or less intense.
- 3To deprive of cohesion by combining chemically with water; to slake.
Etymology
From Middle English slakenen, equivalent to slack + -en.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “slacken”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-L-A-C-K-E-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈslæ.kən/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.