What does aslant mean?
Aslant describes anything positioned or moving at a slant — neither upright nor level, but leaning, tilting, or running diagonally. It functions chiefly as an adverb ('the ladder leaned aslant against the wall'), though it can also serve as a preposition meaning 'across at an angle' ('moonlight lay aslant the floor') and occasionally as an adjective meaning 'tilted'. Derived from the older verb 'slant' with the prefix 'a-', it entered English in the early modern period and carries a distinctly literary flavour: writers reach for it when describing raking sunlight, driving rain, or a rakishly angled hat. Because plain 'slanted' or 'tilted' covers everyday needs, aslant signals a deliberate, often elegant turn of phrase. It is fully standard in both British and American English, but its slightly antique charm means it appears far more often in poetry, fiction, and evocative description than in technical or conversational use.
At an angle; in a slanting or sloping direction.
"The picture hung aslant on the wall after the door slammed."
In a slanting position across or over; athwart.
"A shaft of morning light fell aslant the staircase."
This prepositional use is now chiefly literary or archaic.
Slanting, sloping, or tilted; not vertical or horizontal.
"He gave the signpost an aslant glance and kept walking."
Less common than the adverbial use.
"Aslant" is the poetic way to say something is tilted — Shakespeare used it to describe crooked fortunes, and it still lends any sentence a literary lean.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of aslant
Aslant is formed from the English verb 'slant', of uncertain ultimate origin but present in Middle English, combined with the prefix 'a-' (from Old English 'on') indicating manner or position. It arose in the sixteenth century as one of a family of such formations alongside 'afoot', 'aboard', and 'astern'. Its cognates are therefore not foreign borrowings but sibling words built on the same Germanic pattern of a- plus a noun or adjective.
How aslant is actually used
Predominantly literary and somewhat old-fashioned in register; most common today in descriptive prose and poetry, especially for light, rain, or hats. The prepositional use ('aslant the wall') survives mainly in formal writing.
Easily confused with aslant
'Slant' is the base word meaning a slope or bias, while 'aslant' adds the prefix 'a-' to describe something positioned at a slant rather than naming the slant itself.