ENGLISH DICTIONARY

Tardy

Definition, Meaning & Examples

Pronunciation /ˈtɑːdi/ · Part of speech adjective

Quick meaning: Tardy is an adjective meaning Late; overdue or delayed.

Meaning

Late; overdue or delayed.

More Meanings

  1. Moving with a slow pace or motion; not swift.
  2. Ineffectual; slow-witted, slow to act, or dull.
  3. (US) A piece of paper given to students who are late to class.
  4. (US) An instance of a student's being marked as tardy by a teacher on the teacher's attendance sheet.
  5. (obsolete) Unwary; unready (especially in the phrase take (someone) tardy).
  6. (obsolete) Criminal; guilty.
  7. (obsolete, transitive) To make tardy.

Example Sentences

He yawned, then raised a tardy hand over his mouth.
[…] fashions in proud Italy, / Whose manners still our tardy apish nation / Limps after in base imitation.
Men of genius anticipate their contemporaries, and know they are such, long before the tardy consent of the public.
Nor should their Age by Yeares be told: / Whose Souls, more swift then Motion, clime; / And check the tardy Flight of Time.

Word Forms

Synonyms for tardy

Depending on context, synonyms include belated, delayed, late.

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include belated, late, overdue, slow, delayed, retarded.

Related Dictionary Tools

Sources & Attribution

FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0

Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.