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 DrydenSamuel Garthet 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

5. Healthy, well-fed and well-groomed; in good condition. (of stock animals)
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