Word.ws English Dictionary

slantwise

slantwise adjective: diagonal, in a direction or orientation between cardinal axes.

Adjective

slantwise (not comparable)

  1. Diagonal, in a direction or orientation between cardinal axes
    • I can see it all now,—the slantwise rain / Of light through the leaves, / The sundown's blaze on her window-pane, / The bloom of her roses under the eaves.1858, John Greenleaf Whittier, "Telling the Bees" in The Works of John Greenleaf Whittier, Vol. I, Narrative and Legendary Poems, http://www.gutenberg.org/files/9567/9567-h/9567-h.htm#link2H_4_0045

Adverb

slantwise (comparative more slantwise, superlative most slantwise)

  1. Diagonally, in a direction or orientation between cardinal axes
    • […] he had received a cut slantwise along one temple and cheek, leaving a long scar like a streak of dawn's light falling athwart the dark visage.1924, Herman Melville, chapter 8, in Billy Budd, London: Constable & Co.
    • Slantwise, a salamander-shaped sea came at them, growing.1970, Larry Niven, Ringworld, page 113

Forms of slantwise

comparativemore slantwise
superlativemost slantwise

Origin of slantwise

From slant + -wise.

Questions about slantwise

What does slantwise mean?
Slantwise means diagonal, in a direction or orientation between cardinal axes.
What part of speech is slantwise?
Slantwise can be an adjective or an adverb.

Words near slantwise in the dictionary

  1. slantingways
  2. slantly
  3. slants
  4. slants of wind
  5. slantways
  6. slantwise
  7. slanty
  8. slap
  9. slap and tickle
  10. slap around
  11. slap bang

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: slantwise (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “slantwise.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/slantwise. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.