SLUGGARD Synonyms: 111 Similar and Opposite Words

sluggard 1 of 2

noun

ˈslə-gərd

Definition of sluggard

as in slug

a lazy person tried to wake up the sluggards who were still sleeping at that late hour

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

sluggard

2 of 2

adjective

as in slothful

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Example Sentences

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.

Recent Examples of sluggard

Noun

Scar then proceeds to desolate the kingdom, with the help of hyenas, while Simba, in exile, grows up to become a pleasure-hunting, grub-eating sluggard. — Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 19 July 2019 Clearly, supervision at your job is lax, and your sluggard classmate is taking advantage of that. — Kwame Anthony Appiah, New York Times, 11 Oct. 2017 Slug was – is – a variant on sluggard, which was actually used as a surname for some time, apparently. — Ruth Walker, The Christian Science Monitor, 7 Sep. 2017 French workers, whom the British like to dismiss as holiday-hogging sluggards, are more productive than the British. — The Economist, 31 Aug. 2017

Adjective

The stock really has not done much of anything in the last five years, the stock following a similar sluggard pattern of the company’s revenue line. — Moneyshow, Forbes, 5 Mar. 2021

Recent Examples of Synonyms for sluggard

Noun

These beneficial predators spend the winter under leaves, emerging in spring to feed on common garden pests such as aphids, slugs and mites.

— Manjot Kaur Sidhu, The Conversation, 9 Oct. 2026
Home runs are king in the postseason, but that’s where Caminero comes in, with Liam Hicks, Yandy Díaz and Jonathan Aranda also offering some slug.

— Chris Kirschner, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of slug

Noun

While the imagery around the show was overtly erotic, from the footage of mating snails and kissing bodies to the music and the projections, the clothes themselves were less about baring skin than creating a sense of sensuality.

— Amy Francombe, Vogue, 9 Oct. 2026
Similarly, snail shells almost always spiral in the same direction for every snail species.

— Mallory Green, The Conversation, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of snail

Adjective

Composed of 160 photographs taken across the past seven decades by 118 photographers, the show suggests the jobs, romances, family life, and lazy afternoons that could have been his.

— The Week US, TheWeek, 13 Oct. 2026
However, GitHub’s measures don’t require users to revoke any credentials left exposed in a repo, and some developers continue hard-coding, even though it’s considered both lazy development and exceptionally poor security.

— Alex Colon, PC Magazine, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of lazy

Noun

Authorities also reported drones and missiles were intercepted and destroyed near the capital, Riyadh, and the country’s southern region.

— Melissa Hancock, Fortune, 14 Oct. 2026
The exchange of threats comes as Saudi Arabia investigates why its air defenses failed to intercept a barrage of missiles and drones fired by the Houthis.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of drone

Adjective

Screenings in healthy adults are also more likely to catch indolent disease, meaning slow-growing or static conditions, than aggressive ones.

— Hanna Wickes, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 21 Sep. 2026
Possibly a deepening and widening of populist politics, as both the far right and the far left win over more of the allegedly indolent youth.

— Jay Caspian Kang, New Yorker, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of indolent

Noun

Their name exudes the essence of an idler and slacker, but women’s loafers themselves are quite the opposite.

— Gaby Keiderling, Harper's BAZAAR, 19 Jan. 2023
This represents the loss of an idea of what the capital should represent, the removal of a place that was an idler’s haven.

— Anandi Mishra, The Atlantic, 30 July 2022

Definition of idler

Adjective

Why didn’t Tania just get one of her fellow Council wokesters to hire her shiftless, entitled kin?

— Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 28 Sep. 2025
After the volunteers slink back to Paddy’s, the most shiftless person on campus will once again be Principal Coleman (Janelle James), whose ineptitude and vanity don’t prevent her from advocating for the students from time to time.

— Hannah Giorgis, The Atlantic, 9 Jan. 2025

Definition of shiftless

Browse Nearby Words

slugfests

sluggard

sluggardly

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“Sluggard.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sluggard. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of sluggard

noun

adjective

Example Sentences

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