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tardiness

noun

tar·​di·​ness ˈtär-dē-nəs How to pronounce tardiness (audio)
Synonyms of tardinessnext
: the quality or state of being tardy or late
Students might be sent to Saturday school for any of various infractions, such as tardiness, truancy, smoking, failure to deliver class-work, or creating a disturbance.Anne H. Soukhanov
What you really need is a story that will not only excuse tardiness but encourage your boss to give you the entire day off.Jeff Foxworthy
His habitual tardiness got him fired from job after job, yet he couldn't see the consequences of his actions.June Kinoshita

Examples of tardiness in a Sentence

habitual tardiness will be recorded in your personnel file
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The issues with tardiness to meetings have carried over, per team sources, and his effort on Thursday night was indeed reminiscent of his time in the Steel City. Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 5 Dec. 2025 Most school administrators reported a lack of access to transportation contributed to chronic tardiness (76%), chronic absenteeism (74%), academic performance challenges (68%) and student safety concerns (75%). Andrea Lucia, CBS News, 3 Dec. 2025 For the second consecutive game, Carter was benched to start due to tardiness. Cole Sullivan, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 Dec. 2025 Most interestingly, though, is that Heather doesn’t make a single mention of her tardiness, which is either incredibly mature, a power move, or is focused on the more pressing matter at hand. Tom Smyth, Vulture, 12 Nov. 2025 See All Example Sentences for tardiness

Word History

First Known Use

1608, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of tardiness was in 1608

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Cite this Entry

“Tardiness.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tardiness. Accessed 8 Dec. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on tardiness

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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