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Have no fear, the Word of the Day is here to slake your thirst for knowledge. The uses of slake are varied and fluid. Its most common meaning is synonymous with satisfy or quench—one can slake anything from curiosity to literal thirst. In chemistry, slake can mean "to cause a substance to heat and crumble by treatment with water," and is used specifically in the noun phrase slaked lime, which refers to a compound used in binding agents such as plaster and cement. The word has some obsolete meanings as well: in Shakespearean times, slake meant "to subside or abate" or "to lessen the force of." The most erudite word enthusiasts may also be aware of earlier meanings of slake, such as "to slacken one’s efforts" or "to cause to be relaxed or loose." These early meanings recall the word’s Old English ancestor sleac, which not only meant "slack" but is also slack’s source.
Examples of slake in a Sentence
Asia London Palomba, Travel + Leisure, 29 Nov. 2024
Still, no concession from the British government is likely to slake the nationalists' thirst for a referendum.
—Charles King, Foreign Affairs, 1 Sep. 2012
All of that winter moisture had simply sunken or slaked the thirsty vegetation, and vanished.
—Brandon Loomis, The Arizona Republic, 22 Sep. 2024
China’s impressive portfolio of developmental accomplishments has never been able to fully slake this longing of party leaders to win the acceptance and respect of the very countries that, because of their censoriousness, China simultaneously treats as adversaries.
—Orville Schell, Foreign Affairs, 6 Feb. 2022
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Dictionary Entries Near slake
Cite this Entry
“Slake.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slake. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.
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