In this weekly post, we bring more useful content from the Macmillan Dictionary to English language learners. In this series of language tips to accompany the Real Vocabulary theme we look at how you can expand your vocabulary in English by using different words and expressions instead of core vocabulary items.
This set of language tips explores the words and phrases we use to describe movement. This week’s tip looks at adverbs and phrases that mean moving slowly:
slowly moving at a slow speed:
- They drove slowly along the seafront.
- A group of swans was swimming slowly across the lake.
- She asked him to walk more slowly.
sluggishly not moving as quickly as usual or as quickly as you would like:
- Chris got away sluggishly but managed to overtake his rivals by the 200-metre mark.
at (a) low speed or at a slow speed slowly:
- She’d been travelling at a very slow speed.
- Most traffic accidents happen at low speed.
at (a) snail’s pace extremely slowly, especially when this is annoying and frustrating:
- The bus driver took his vehicle at snail’s pace along Princes Street.
- We set off back towards the city centre, crawling along at a snail’s pace.
in slow motion very slowly, like a film that has been slowed down:
- Everything seemed to happen in slow motion.
Did you know that Macmillan Dictionary includes a full thesaurus? This page lists more ways to say ‘slowly‘.
More language tips
Browse the list under the ‘language tips‘ tag here on the blog for more useful language tips.
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