sleek

English

Etymology

A late variant of slick; cognate to German schleichen (Old High German slihhan) and Dutch slijk (“mud, slime”). Compare slink.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sliːk/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• Rhymes: -iːk

Adjective

sleek (comparative sleeker, superlative sleekest)

1. Having an even, smooth surface; smooth

   Synonyms: frictionless, silky; see also Thesaurus:smooth

   sleek hair

   • 1717, John Dryden, Samuel Garth, et al., “Book 1”, in Metamorphoses, translation of Metamorphoses by Ovid, line 837:

     So sleek her skin, so faultless was her make.

2. Glossy.

   Synonyms: glacé, sheeny; see also Thesaurus:glossy

3. Not rough or harsh.

   Synonyms: civilized, classy, elegant, graceful, refined

   • 1673, John Milton, “Sonnet 11”, in Poems, line 10:

     Those rugged names to our like mouths grow sleek.

4. Slim and streamlined; not plump, thick, or stocky.

   Synonyms: lithe, svelte; see also Thesaurus:slender

   • 1961, Xavier Herbert, Soldiers' Women, Netley, SA: Fontana Books, published 1978, page 99:

     But if it were like a rabbit that Rosa went, she came back like a weasel or some such sleek and lissom creature.

5. (of stock animals) Healthy, well-fed and well-groomed; in good condition.
6. Dated form of slick (“convincing but untrustworthy”).
   • 1892, The Critic, volume 20, page 229:

     'Are these the Carrara marbles?' the lady queried. 'Yes, madam,' responded the sleek salesman.

Derived terms

• sleekly
• sleekness
• sleekstone

Translations

smooth

Armenian: ողորկ (hy) (oġork) Bulgarian: гладък (bg) (gladǎk), лъскав (bg) (lǎskav) Chinese: Mandarin: 光滑的 Czech: lesklý (cs), hladký (cs) Dutch: glad (nl) Finnish: sileä (fi), tasainen (fi) French: brillant (fr), luisant (fr), lisse (fr) German: glatt (de); (of hair, fabric also) seidig (de) Hungarian: sima (hu) Ido: glata (io) Italian: elegante (it), lucido (it), liscio (it) Maori: maheni, ngerungeru, mohimohi, koutata, tōwahiwahi, tōwāwahi, koutata Persian: لخت (fa) (laxt) Polish: gładki (pl) Portuguese: suave (pt) Romanian: neted (ro) m Russian: гла́дкий (ru) (gládkij), гля́нцевый (ru) (gljáncevyj) Spanish: liso (es) Swedish: slät (sv), glatt (sv) Turkish: şık (tr)

not rough or harsh

Czech: elegantní, uhlazený French: lisse (fr) m or f German: geschmeidig (de) Italian: slanciato (it) m Portuguese: liso (pt) Russian: гла́дкий (ru) (gládkij) Spanish: liso (es)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

German: (please verify) glänzend (de) Spanish: (please verify) liso (es)

Adverb

sleek (not comparable)

1. (dated, colloquial) With ease and dexterity.

   Synonyms: clean, slick

Verb

sleek (third-person singular simple present sleeks, present participle sleeking, simple past and past participle sleeked)

1. (transitive) To make smooth or glossy; to polish.
   • 1895, The New Technical Educator, page 258:

     The sloping brush sleeks the surface.

2. (transitive, dated) To calm or soothe.
3. (intransitive, dated) To glide.

Translations

to make smooth; glossy; or to polish

Bulgarian: приглаждам (bg) (priglaždam), полирам (bg) (poliram) Czech: uhladit pf, ulízat pf Finnish: silottaa, kiillottaa (fi) Ido: glatigar (io) Irish: slíoc Portuguese: alisar (pt)

Noun

sleek (uncountable)

1. That which makes smooth; varnish.

Translations

that which makes smooth; varnish

Finnish: kiillotusaine

Anagrams

• Keels, Klees, Leske, Selke, elkes, keels, leeks, skeel

Scots

Etymology

Variant of slick.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /slik/

Adjective

sleek (comparative sleeker, superlative sleekest)

1. sleek

Verb

sleek (third-person singular simple present sleeks, present participle sleekin, simple past sleekit, past participle sleekit)

1. to sleek

Descendants

• → Irish: slíoc