Meanings
comparative slowlier · comparative more slowly · superlative slowliest · superlative most slowly
- mannerAt a slow pace.
When bond yields rise slowly over time, it’s not a problem for pensions deploying LDI strategies, and actually helps their finances.
2022 October 8, Julia Horowitz, “How meltdown in a $1 trillion market brought the UK to the brink of a financial crisis”, in CNN Business, archived from the original on 16 May 20241 more example
Then everybody once more knelt, and soon the blessing was pronounced. The choir and the clergy trooped out slowly, […], down the nave to the western door. […] At a seemingly immense distance the surpliced group stopped to say the last prayer.
1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter V, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLCSynonyms: ponderously, sluggishly, with leaden wings, gradually, litherly, tardily
Synonyms & antonyms
adverbAt a slow pace.
More synonyms by meaning
adverbwithout speed (‘slow’ is sometimes used informally for ‘slowly’)
adverbin music
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Old Englishslāwlīċe“slowly; sluggishly”
- Middle Englishslowly
- Englishslowly
From Middle English slowly, slowli, slouli, slowliche, from Old English slāwlīċe (“slowly; sluggishly”), equivalent to slow + -ly. Compare Old Norse slæliga, sljóliga.
More words from Middle English, Old English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek βραδέως
- βραδέως (bradéōs)at a slow pace
Arabic بِبُطْء
- بِبُطْء (bi-buṭʔ)at a slow pace
Basque poliki
- polikiat a slow pace
Bulgarian ба́вно
- ба́вно (bávno)at a slow pace
Catalan lentament, a poc a poc
- lentamentat a slow pace
- a poc a pocat a slow pace
Chinese Mandarin 慢
- 慢 (màn)at a slow pace
Czech pomalu
- pomaluat a slow pace
Danish langsomt
- langsomtat a slow pace
Dutch traag, traagjes
- traagat a slow pace
- traagjesat a slow pace
- langzaamat a slow pace
- langzaamaanat a slow pace
Esperanto malrapide
- malrapideat a slow pace
Estonian aeglaselt
- aeglaseltat a slow pace
Finnish hitaasti
- hitaastiat a slow pace
French lentement
- lentementat a slow pace
German langsam
- langsamat a slow pace
Greek σιγά, αργά
- σιγά (sigá)at a slow pace
- αργά (argá)at a slow pace
Hebrew לאט
- לאט (le'át)at a slow pace
Hindi आहिस्ता, धीरे
- आहिस्ता (āhistā)at a slow pace
- धीरे (dhīre)at a slow pace
- धीरे-धीरे (dhīre-dhīre)at a slow pace
Hungarian lassan
- lassanat a slow pace
Icelandic hægt, rólega
- hægtat a slow pace
- rólegaat a slow pace
Indonesian pelan-pelan
- pelan-pelanat a slow pace
Italian lentamente, adagio
- lentamenteat a slow pace
- adagioat a slow pace
- a rilentoat a slow pace
Japanese ゆっくり, そろそろ
- ゆっくり (yukkuri)at a slow pace
- そろそろ (sorosoro)at a slow pace
Korean 천천히, 느리게
- 천천히 (cheoncheonhi)at a slow pace
- 느리게 (neurige)at a slow pace
Latin lentē, tardē
- lentēat a slow pace
- tardēat a slow pace
- segniterat a slow pace
Latvian lēnām, lēni
- lēnāmat a slow pace
- lēniat a slow pace
- lēnuat a slow pace
Malay perlahan
- perlahanat a slow pace
Norwegian sakte, langsomt
- sakteat a slow pace
- langsomtat a slow pace
Persian آهسته
- آهسته (âheste)at a slow pace
Polish powoli, wolno
- powoliat a slow pace
- wolnoat a slow pace
- pomałuat a slow pace
- nieśpiesznieat a slow pace
- nieprędkoat a slow pace
- niemrawoat a slow pace
- pomalutkuat a slow pace
Portuguese devagar, lentamente
- devagarat a slow pace
- lentamenteat a slow pace
- vagarosamenteat a slow pace
Romanian încet, lent
- încetat a slow pace
- lentat a slow pace
- domolat a slow pace
- lentamenteat a slow pace
Russian ме́дленно
- ме́дленно (médlenno)at a slow pace
Slovak pomaly
- pomalyat a slow pace
Spanish lentamente, despacio
- lentamenteat a slow pace
- despacioat a slow pace
- con despacioat a slow pace
- despacitoat a slow pace
Swedish sakta
- saktaat a slow pace
Tamil மெதுவா
- மெதுவா (metuvā)at a slow pace
Thai ช้าๆ
- ช้าๆ (cháa-cháa)at a slow pace
Turkish yavaş, yavaşça
- yavaşat a slow pace
- yavaşçaat a slow pace
- yavaş yavaşat a slow pace
- aheste ahesteat a slow pace
Ukrainian пові́льно, без поспіху
- пові́льно (povílʹno)at a slow pace
- без поспіху (bez pospixu)at a slow pace
Urdu آہستہ
- آہستہ (āhistā)at a slow pace
Vietnamese chậm
- chậmat a slow pace
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with slowly
Cite this entry
slowly. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/slowly
“slowly.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/slowly. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “slowly,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/slowly.
Source: slowly on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.