Meaning

Habitually idle and lazy; slothful; dull; inactive.

Definitions by Sense

1. Habitually idle and lazy; slothful; dull; inactive
2. Slow; having little motion.
3. Having no power to move oneself or itself; inert.
4. Characteristic of a sluggard; dull; stupid; tame; simple.
5. Exhibiting economic decline, inactivity, slow, or subnormal growth.

Example Sentences

a sluggish man

[I]f he leaves the School poſſeſs'd of a ſluggiſh indolent Diſpoſition, and of Learning rather forc'd upon him than choſen, it is probable he will forget what he brought thence; but if he be active, emulous and aſpiring, he will certainly find Time for Reading and Thinking; for tho' it be a homely, it is a true Saying, that where there is a Will, there is a Way.

And the sluggish land slumbers in utter neglect.

He helps us to understand the insignificant points which mark the rapid undercurrents of the seemingly sluggish soul of Khalid.

Vp thou tame River, vvake; / And from the liquid limbes this ſlumber ſhake: / Thou drovvn'st thy ſelfe in inofficious ſleepe; / And theſe thy ſluggiſh vvaters ſeeme to creepe, / Rather than flovv.

We float upon a sluggish stream, / We ride no rapids mad, / While life is all a tempered dream / And every joy half sad.

The head of the North Tyne is reached at Deadwater, 36 miles from Hexham. The river has its source just on the English side of the Border, at the foot of Peel Fell, the most westerly spur of the Cheviots. At first it is a sluggish stream (hence the name Deadwater) but begins to flow more swiftly before it reaches Kielder.

[T]he stock of capital is necessarily a sluggish time series, while output is capable of making wide swings in short intervals[.]

Word Forms

• sluggisher
• more sluggish
• sluggishest
• most sluggish

Synonyms for sluggish

Antonyms for sluggish

Related Words

When Should You Use Sluggish?

Use sluggish when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.

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