slippery

/ˈslɪpəri/

/ˈslɪpəri/

Other forms: slipperily

Slippery things are slimy or wet, or for some other reason cause you to slide on them. A slippery fish is hard to hold in your hand, and a slippery path is easy to slip on.

You should drive slowly and cautiously when the road is slippery after it starts to sleet. And your hands may get slippery with sweat when you're nervous about a job interview. You can also use this adjective in a figurative way, to mean "tricky" or "unreliable," so you might complain about your slippery brother, who always manages to disappear right before it's time to take the trash out or load the dishwasher.

Definitions of slippery

1. adjective

   causing or tending to cause things to slip or slide
   “slippery sidewalks”

   “a slippery bar of soap”

   synonyms: slippy

   lubricious

   having a smooth or slippery quality

   nonstick

   (of surfaces especially of cooking utensils) permitting easy removal of adherent food particles

   slick

   made slick by e.g. ice or grease

   sliding

   being a smooth continuous motion

   slimed, slimy

   covered with or resembling slime

   slipping, slithering

   moving as on a slippery surface

   slithery

   having a slippery surface or quality

   smooth

   having a surface free from roughness or bumps or ridges or irregularities

   antonyms:

   nonslippery

   not slippery; not likely to slip or skid

   nonskid

   designed to reduce or prevent skidding

   nonslip

   designed to reduce or prevent slipping

   rough, unsmooth

   having or caused by an irregular surface
2. adjective

   not to be trusted
   “"how extraordinarily slippery a liar the camera is"- James Agee”

   synonyms: tricky

   untrustworthy, untrusty

   not worthy of trust or belief