slow

/sləʊ/

//sləʊ// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"slow" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“slow” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #1,504. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#1,504
frequency rank, English
54,294
“S” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Taking a long time to move or go a short distance, or to perform an action; not quick in motion; proceeding at a low speed.

Corpus desk

Index EN-slow · slow · English

slow · rank #1,504 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,504
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 54,294
  • PHOTO-FINISH signed

Nearest frequency peer: signed (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “slow”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “slow” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of May 6, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

slow vs so
50% similar
slow vs SW
0% similar
slow vs son
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for slow
PropertyValue
Headwordslow
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/sləʊ/
Letters4
Frequency rank#1,504
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “slow” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). slow lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around slow (IPA /sləʊ/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #1,504 among 54,294 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for slow, with forms such as "lsow", "sllow", and "sloww". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "so", "SW", "son", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English slow, slaw, from Old English slāw (“sluggish, inert, slothful, late, tardy, torpid, slow”), from Proto-West Germanic *slaiw, from Proto-Germanic *slaiwaz (“blunt, dull, faint, weak, slack”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *sleyH-u- (“… The correct English form is slow, spelled S-L-O-W.

Definition

  1. 1
    Taking a long time to move or go a short distance, or to perform an action; not quick in motion; proceeding at a low speed.
  2. 2
    Not happening in a short time; spread over a comparatively long time.
  3. 3
    Of reduced intellectual capacity; not quick to comprehend.
  4. 4
    Not hasty; not tending to hurry; acting with deliberation or caution.
  5. 5
    Behind in time; indicating a time earlier than the true time.
  6. 6
    Lacking spirit; deficient in liveliness or briskness.
  7. 7
    Not busy; lacking activity.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how slow appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. a slow train; a slow computer
  2. Holding out her small olive hand before her captain, she said in mild and slowest Spanish, "Senor, I buried him;" then paused, struggled as against the writhed coilings of a snake, and cringing suddenly, leaped up, repeating in impassioned pain, "I buried him, my life, my soul!"

Etymology

From Middle English slow, slaw, from Old English slāw (“sluggish, inert, slothful, late, tardy, torpid, slow”), from Proto-West Germanic *slaiw, from Proto-Germanic *slaiwaz (“blunt, dull, faint, weak, slack”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *sleyH-u- (“bad”). Cognate with Scots slaw (“slow”), West Frisian sleau (“slow, dull, lazy”), Dutch sleeuw (“blunt, dull”), Low German slee (“dull, sluggish”), German schlehe, schleh (“dull, exhausted, faint”), Danish sløv (“dull, torpid, drowsy”), Swedish slö (“slack, lazy”), Icelandic sljór (“dim-witted, slow”).

Synonyms

deliberatemoderategradualgradualdull-wittedstupidcarefuldeliberateprudentcautiousboringdilatorydullinactivetardyslothfulsluggishboringquietunbusycrawlinglanguidlanguorousdraggycreepingdreichgastropodousglacialheavy-footedinchinginertlaboredleadenlead-footedlethargiclow-speedlumberingploddingpokeyponderousslothlikeslowslow as a snailslow as Christmasslow as molassesslow as molasses in Januaryslowfootedstatelysteadysubglacialsullentardigradetedioustestudineoustorpidunspeedy

Antonyms

fastquickrapidswiftspeedyabruptsuddenkeenquick-wittedintelligenthastyprecipitatepromptaccuratefastbrisklivelyactivehectic

This word in other languages

lento(Español)lent(Français)langsam(Deutsch)lento(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • lsow
  • sllow
  • sloww
  • slwo
  • solw
  • sslow

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of slow - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

lsow2sllow1sloww1slwo2solw2sslow1
Edit distance from "slow"

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "slow"?
"slow" is spelled S-L-O-W. The IPA pronunciation is /sləʊ/.
What does "slow" mean?
As an adjective, "slow" means: Taking a long time to move or go a short distance, or to perform an action; not quick in motion; proceeding at a low speed.
What words are commonly confused with "slow"?
"slow" is commonly confused with "so", "SW", "son". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "slow"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "slow" is /sləʊ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "slow"?
From Middle English slow, slaw, from Old English slāw (“sluggish, inert, slothful, late, tardy, torpid, slow”), from Proto-West Germanic *slaiw, from Proto-Germanic *slaiwaz (“blunt, dull, faint, weak, slack”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *s... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "slow", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

tree#1,508ride#1,498whom#1,513fell#1,483

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

begin6 variantsglass6 variantsideas6 variantsappear6 variants
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.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list