as in snails
someone who moves slowly or more slowly than others
tried to spur on the laggards at the back of the line during the hike
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Recent Examples of laggards
By the time the laggards begin, that gap may be categorical rather than incremental.
—
Manu Khetan,
Forbes.com,
25 June 2026
Dislocation from tariffs, onshoring, war, oil, and supply shocks present opportunities for dissident shareholders to show laggards the way.
—
Rohan Goswami,
semafor.com,
25 June 2026
Real estate, health care, industries, utilities, and energy traded solidly in the green, while communications services and consumer discretionary were the laggards.
—
Jeff Marks,
CNBC,
22 June 2026
Two-thirds of the elite group also saw a measured business outcome within six months from when a pilot kicked off, versus 31% of the laggards.
—
John Kell,
Fortune,
17 June 2026
When companies must report carbon emissions using the same methodology, for example, or disclose labor conditions using identical categories, investors can compare performance, identify laggards and allocate capital accordingly.
—
Suvrat Dhanorkar,
The Conversation,
18 May 2026
The laggards in the polls also took on Steyer, painting him as hypocritical for claiming an environmentalist’s mantle, after acquiring some of his vast wealth with fossil fuel investments.
—
James Rainey,
Los Angeles Times,
6 May 2026
Manu Khetan,
Forbes.com,
25 June 2026
Dislocation from tariffs, onshoring, war, oil, and supply shocks present opportunities for dissident shareholders to show laggards the way.
—
Rohan Goswami,
semafor.com,
25 June 2026
Real estate, health care, industries, utilities, and energy traded solidly in the green, while communications services and consumer discretionary were the laggards.
—
Jeff Marks,
CNBC,
22 June 2026
Two-thirds of the elite group also saw a measured business outcome within six months from when a pilot kicked off, versus 31% of the laggards.
—
John Kell,
Fortune,
17 June 2026
When companies must report carbon emissions using the same methodology, for example, or disclose labor conditions using identical categories, investors can compare performance, identify laggards and allocate capital accordingly.
—
Suvrat Dhanorkar,
The Conversation,
18 May 2026
The laggards in the polls also took on Steyer, painting him as hypocritical for claiming an environmentalist’s mantle, after acquiring some of his vast wealth with fossil fuel investments.
—
James Rainey,
Los Angeles Times,
6 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for laggards
Noun
-
So, too, do simultaneous hermaphrodites, a collection of creatures that includes most species of land snails, slugs, and earthworms.
-
In outdoor ferns, slugs and snails can chew holes in fronds.
Noun
-
There’s growing evidence, however, that some Tequesta stragglers may have stayed behind, or that some eventually returned from Cuba, joining other indigenous people in Florida.
-
Duckett was waiting for the last bus of the day at Port Authority, watching as stragglers headed to the casino and the janitor cleaned up for the night, when the pressure hit a breaking point.
Cite this Entry
“Laggards.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/laggards. Accessed 2 Jul. 2026.
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