slackly
1
5.8
- adverb
- /ˈslækli/
- He held the rope slackly, allowing it to droop to the ground.
- hung slackly
Examples
-
She touches him, and his head tips slackly to one side.
Fiction book (1990) -
I ignored him, and noticed that my jaw was hanging slackly.
Fiction book (1997) -
Then I was resting from all that activity, holding the hose slackly at my side.
Fiction book (1997) -
Steve Kelly mumbled slackly that Romney is a good person and is worthy of respect.
Blog text (31) -
The woman's head bounced slackly against the wood, with a dense, compact sound.
Fiction book (1993) -
The jaw hung slackly open, and the empty blue eyes bugged horribly.
Fiction book (1995) -
The melted telephone receiver dangled slackly on its cord.
Fiction book (1990) -
He whistles to himself monotonously and tunelessly, as if timekeeping, holding the pistol slackly.
Fiction book (2001) -
Then, that afternoon, without any transition from formality, he grasped her fist where it was resting slackly on her desk and covered it tightly in his own.
Fiction book (1994) -
Julian Moynahan reads the novel as a struggle of "Firmness versus Wetness," and deplores the shift from "a tensely masculine world" to "a slackly feminine one."
Fiction book (1994)
Synonyms
19
3.0
In a relaxed way that is not tightly controlled
4
4.4
In a weak, soft way that has no stiffness
1
7.5
In a limp, loose way that hangs down
1
7.8
In a careless, not strict way
1
8.0
In a limp, weak way that is not firm
In a sad, tired way that makes the head or body hang down
Antonyms
How Tight
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Slackly comes from the simple word slack meaning 'loose' or 'not tight', with the ending -ly that makes it describe how something is done. Think of a rope or a flag hanging slackly — relaxed and not tight — which is why slackly means 'in a loose or relaxed way'.