How to Use slacken in a Sentence

slacken

verb
  • The captain ordered us to slacken the sails.
  • Sales show no sign of slackening.
  • As he began to relax, his grip on the steering wheel slackened.
  • Wind speeds should slacken overnight Friday even near the gorge.
    — oregonlive, 15 Dec. 2022
  • My resolve soon began to slacken as burnout licked at the edges of my will.
    — Kyle Meyaard-Schaap, CNN, 30 Apr. 2021
  • Cold, damp air tends to pool up in the valleys when winds slacken in winter.
    — Anthony Edwards, San Francisco Chronicle, 13 Jan. 2026
  • Cold remains on Monday but at least breezes should slacken a bit.
    — A. Camden Walker, Washington Post, 11 Nov. 2022
  • There is no sign of any slackening in demand for such business.
    — The Economist, 18 July 2019
  • But as an El Niño gathers strength, the trade winds tend to slacken.
    — Tom Yulsman, Discover Magazine, 9 July 2015
  • Winds will slacken a good deal with sundown, ending up light out of the north after dark.
    — Washington Post, 1 Nov. 2021
  • Their pace in achieving many of his campaign promises hasn’t slackened one bit.
    — Paul Bedard, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 1 Feb. 2025
  • Eventually your skin will slacken and your eyelids will fall to half-mast.
    — Ali Wentworth, Harper's BAZAAR, 29 Mar. 2018
  • The good news is that winds out of the gorge should slacken by late morning helping to mitigate wind chills.
    — oregonlive, 23 Dec. 2022
  • If prices continue to climb and mortgage rates rise, too, demand could slacken.
    — Madison Iszler, San Antonio Express-News, 18 Nov. 2021
  • Once the front moves through, the winds should slacken, but travel may be difficult at times with stronger gusts and heavy rain.
    — oregonlive, 10 Dec. 2021
  • But the rate of decline slackened as some parts of the economy were allowed to reopen.
    — Julia Horowitz, CNN, 21 May 2020
  • Rain is likely during the morning but may slacken a bit by the afternoon.
    — oregonlive, 23 Dec. 2022
  • Skies stay mostly clear and northwesterly winds slacken off to about 5 mph.
    — Rick Grow, Washington Post, 12 July 2019
  • While data for August is not available yet, the pace has not appeared to slacken.
    — San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 Sep. 2019
  • While data for August are not available yet, the pace has not appeared to slacken.
    — Los Angeles Times, 3 Sep. 2019
  • Perhaps their eyes slacken at the idea of yet another uninspired pantry pasta.
    — Scott Hocker, theweek, 12 July 2024
  • The number of patients crowding the emergency rooms did not slacken off.
    — Nan Randall, The Atlantic, 25 Jan. 2018
  • The cattle sought shelter in creek bottoms and wherever the wind slackened.
    — H.w. Brands, Time, 22 Oct. 2019
  • The pace of killings slackened, with cadres told to reeducate rather than exterminate those who’d strayed.
    — Matthew Campbell, Bloomberg, 22 May 2026
  • Winds may slacken a bit overnight, but gradients will tighten again Friday and strong winds gusts will ramp up again.
    — oregonlive, 17 Nov. 2022
  • That restless buildup for the perfect tomato to slacken and blush, to actually smell of fire and rain?
    — Eric Kim, New York Times, 19 July 2023
  • Breezes slacken from the north and west overnight, easily staying under 10 mph.
    — A. Camden Walker, Washington Post, 2 Mar. 2024
  • Thereafter, the artist's drawing skills slackened, Padgett writes.
    — Steven Litt, cleveland.com, 23 July 2017
  • Winds should begin to slacken overnight as the high pressure begins to weaken east of the Cascades.
    — oregonlive, 28 Jan. 2022
  • Maybe, kinda, but only when the tempo slackens for the album’s final two ballads.
    — Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 28 Jan. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'slacken.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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