slippery
/ˈslɪpəɹi/adjective
slippery is spelled S-L-I-P-P-E-R-Y: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 4.1 times per million words in written English, the 12,764th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, slippery means “Of a surface, having low friction, often due to being covered in a non-viscous liquid, and therefore hard to grip, hard to stand on without falling…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in slippery?
| Letters | 8: S-L-I-P-P-E-R-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 4.1 times per million words; the 12,764th 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 slippery?
Slippery appears 4.1 times per million words in written English, the 12,764th 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 slippery?
- /ˈslɪpəɹi/
- /ˈslɪpɹi/
Slippery has 3 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: En-us-slippery.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of slippery
- slipperier comparative
- more slippery comparative
- slipperiest superlative
- most slippery superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does slippery mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Of a surface, having low friction, often due to being covered in a non-viscous liquid, and therefore hard to grip, hard to stand on without falling, etc.
Oily substances render things slippery.
- 2
Evasive; difficult to pin down.
a slippery person
- 3
obsoleteLiable to slip; not standing firm.
- 4
Unstable; changeable; inconstant.
- 5
obsoleteWanton; unchaste; loose in morals.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Slippery in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | glissant |
| German | rutschig, glitschig , aalglatt |
| Portuguese | escorregadio , liso |
| Spanish | resbaladizo, escurridizo, resbaloso |
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 slippery come from?
From Middle English slipperie, an extended form ( + -y) of Middle English slipper, sliper (“slippery”), from Old English slipor (“slippery”), from Proto-Germanic *slipraz (“smooth, slippery”), equivalent to slip + -er. Compare also Middle English slibbri, slubbri (“slippery”) borrowed from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German slibberich (“slippery”). Cognate with German schlüpfrig (“slippery”), Danish slibrig (“slippery”), Swedish slipprig (“slippery”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).