different between insensible vs slack

English

Etymology

From Old French insensible, from Late Latin ?ns?nsibilis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?n?s?n.s?.bl?/
• Hyphenation: in?sen?si?ble

Adjective

insensible (comparative more insensible, superlative most insensible)

1. Unable to be perceived by the senses.
   • They fall away, / And languish with insensible decay.

2. Incapable or deprived of physical sensation.
3. Unable to be understood; unintelligible.
4. Not sensible or reasonable; meaningless.
   • 1736, Matthew Hale, Historia Placitorum Coronæ

     If it make the indictment be insensible or uncertain, […] it shall be quashed.

5. Incapable of mental feeling; indifferent.

   • Lost in their loves, insensible of shame.

   • 1813, Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, Modern Library Edition (1995), page 138

     In spite of her deep-rooted dislike, she could not be insensible to the compliment of such a man's affection...

6. Incapable of emotional feeling; callous; apathetic.

   Synonym: insensitive

Antonyms

• sensible

Derived terms

• insensibility
• insensibly

Translations

French

Etymology

From Old French insensible, from Late Latin ?ns?nsibilis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??.s??.sibl/
• Homophone: insensibles

Adjective

insensible (plural insensibles)

1. insensible
2. impervious

Further reading

• “insensible” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Spanish

Etymology

From Late Latin ?ns?nsibilis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /insen?sible/, [?n.s?n?si.??le]

Adjective

insensible (plural insensibles)

1. insensible, insensitive, callous, cold, tactless

   Antonym: sensible

Related terms

• insensibilidad (possibly derived)

Further reading

• “insensible” in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014.

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /slæk/
• Rhymes: -æk

Etymology 1

From Middle English slak, from Old English slæc (“slack”), from Proto-Germanic *slakaz. For sense of coal dust, compare slag.

Noun

slack (countable and uncountable, plural slacks)

1. (uncountable) The part of anything that hangs loose, having no strain upon it.

2. (countable) A tidal marsh or shallow that periodically fills and drains.
3. (uncountable, psychotherapy) Unconditional listening attention given by client to patient.
   • 1979, Richard Dean Rosen, Psychobabble (page 93)

     The counselor is directed to give his client "free attention," or "slack," performing a kind of vigil, a version of Carl Rogers's "unconditional positive regard."

   • 1983, Harvey Jackins, The Reclaiming of Power (page 14)

     We have apparently been doing this all our lives, since we were first distressed. This collection of ancient habits seems to be "energized" by the presence, or even the promise, of "slack" or free attention from any person in the situation […]

Synonyms

• (tidal marsh): slough

Translations

Adjective

slack (comparative slacker, superlative slackest)

1. (normally said of a rope) Lax; not tense; not firmly extended.

2. Weak; not holding fast.

3. Moderate in some capacity.
   1. Moderately warm.

   2. Moderate in speed.

4. lacking diligence or care; not earnest or eager.
5. Not active, successful, or violent.
6. Excess; surplus to requirements.

7. (slang, Caribbean, Jamaican) vulgar; sexually explicit, especially in dancehall music.
8. (linguistics) Lax.

Synonyms

• (not violent, rapid, or pressing): slow, moderate, easy

Derived terms

• slacken
• slack-jawed
• slackness

Translations

Adverb

slack (not comparable)

1. Slackly.

Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English slakken, slaken, from Old English slacian, from Proto-Germanic *slak?n? (“to slack, slacken”).

Verb

slack (third-person singular simple present slacks, present participle slacking, simple past and past participle slacked)

1. To slacken.

   • In this business of growing rich, poor men […] should slack their pace.

2. (obsolete) To mitigate; to reduce the strength of.
3. To lose cohesion or solidity by a chemical combination with water; to slake.

Derived terms

• slack off

Translations

Etymology 3

Either from the adjective in Etymology 1 or the verb in Etymology 2.

Noun

slack (plural slacks)

1. (rail transport) A temporary speed restriction where track maintenance or engineering work is being carried out at a particular place.

Etymology 4

From Middle English slak, from Old Norse slakki (“a slope”). Cognate with Icelandic slakki, Norwegian slakke.

Noun

slack (plural slacks)

1. (countable) A valley, or small, shallow dell.

Etymology 5

Probably from German Schlacke (“dross, slag”). Doublet of slag.

Noun

slack (uncountable)

1. (mining) Small coal; coal dust.
   • 1905, Colliery Engineer (volume 25, page 107)

     One of the important improvements of recent years has been attained by mixing the peat pulp as it passes through the grinding machine, with other inflammable materials, such as bituminous coal dust, or slack […]

Synonyms

• culm

Derived terms

• nutty slack

Anagrams

• calks, kcals, lacks