slake
pronunciation
How to pronounce slake in British English:
UK [sleɪk]
How to pronounce slake in American English:
US [slek]
-
- Verb:
- satisfy (thirst)
- make less active or intense
- cause to heat and crumble by treatment with water
Word Origin
- slake (v.)
- late Old English sleacian, slacian "become slack or remiss; slacken an effort" (intransitive); "delay, retard" (transitive), from slæc "lax" (see slack (adj.)). Transitive sense of "make slack" is from late 12c. Sense of "allay, diminish in force, quench, extinguish" (in reference to thirst, hunger, desire, wrath, etc.) first recorded early 14c. via notion of "make slack or inactive." Related: Slaked; slaking.
Example
- 1. But it seems unlikely even they could slake the thirst .
- 2. That the saudis are even considering such a project shows how difficult and costly it is becoming to slake the world 's thirst for oil .
- 3. Its strategy of rolling out its trademark fizzy drink round the world to slake the thirst of upwardly mobile consumers in emerging markets had run out of steam .