To slake a fire is to pour liquid on it to put it out. And to slake a thirst is to quench or satisfy that thirst in a cool, refreshing, relieving way, as if the thirst is a fire that’s being put out.
Pronunciation:
SLAKE
(rhymes with “flake”)
Part of speech:
Verb, the transitive kind: “he slaked his thirst,” “she slaked her curiosity.”
Other forms:
slaked, slaking; unslaked, slakeless
How to use it:
This word is dramatic and a bit old-fashioned.
Talk about the drinks that slake our thirst, or the drinks that slake our lips, mouths, or throats.
And, talk about the abstract things (like events, information, interactions, conversations, experiences, books, music, and movies) that slake our thirst, or that slake our hunger, desire, curiosity, passion, heart, soul, spirit, etc.
examples:
“Copper, granite, concrete and marble are slaking people’s thirst for interiors that don’t look like wearying generic condos.”
— Catherine Romano, Wall Street Journal, 1 June 2018
“With throats unslaked, with black lips baked, We could nor laugh nor wail…”
— Samuel Coleridge, “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” 1798