Synonyms of lagging

lagging 1 of 2

adjective

as in slow

moving or proceeding at less than the normal, desirable, or required speed

the lagging pace of work on the project was worrisome

Synonyms & Similar Words

• slow
• leisurely
• dragging
• laggard
• creeping
• sluggish
• crawling
• slowing
• dilatory
• tardy
• dillydallying
• poking
• poky
• dallying
• unhurried
• snaillike
• dawdling
• languid
• lethargic
• snail-paced
• lingering
• deliberate
• inactive
• loafing
• inert
• lounging
• loitering
• measured
• plodding
• decelerating
• ambling
• stalling
• shuffling
• procrastinating
• tarrying
• strolling
• heavy-footed
• inching
• slow-footed
• filibustering

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• rapid
• rushing
• running
• lightning
• speedy
• swift
• racing
• hasty
• fast
• speeding
• quick
• breathless
• brisk
• flying
• dizzy
• meteoric
• ready
• fleet
• rocketing
• bolting
• snappy
• whirlwind
• prompt
• expeditious
• accelerated
• hurrying
• breakneck
• whirling
• warp-speed
• barreling
• scudding
• zipping
• scurrying
• scooting
• rushed
• careering
• whisking
• quickened
• hastened
• hurried

lagging

2 of 2

verb

present participle of lag

1

as in fading

to lose bodily strength or vigor

during the fourth quarter the whole team seemed to lag

Synonyms & Similar Words

• fading
• weakening
• sagging
• going
• failing
• sinking
• drooping
• deteriorating
• languishing
• flagging
• decaying
• wilting
• withering
• wasting (away)
• emaciating
• wearing out
• rotting
• yielding
• degenerating
• breaking down
• running down

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• recovering
• rallying
• gaining
• recuperating
• rebounding
• convalescing

2

as in delaying

to move or act slowly

the tired puppy was lagging behind the rest of the pack

Synonyms & Similar Words

• delaying
• lingering
• dragging
• crawling
• poking
• creeping
• playing
• strolling
• stalling
• dawdling
• loitering
• shuffling
• falling behind
• hanging fire
• moping
• lollygagging
• dropping behind
• diddling
• marking time
• idling
• tarrying
• dillydallying
• staggering
• dallying
• lounging
• taking one's time
• dragging one's feet
• shilly-shallying
• loafing
• decelerating
• trifling
• fiddling (around)
• fooling around
• hanging (around or out)
• inching
• puttering (around)
• sauntering
• pottering (around)
• messing around
• ambling
• monkeying (around)
• procrastinating
• plodding
• slowing (down or up)
• lolling
• easing
• lumbering
• temporizing
• filibustering

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• running
• rushing
• tearing
• hurrying
• flying
• racing
• speeding
• ripping
• hastening
• whirling
• whizzing
• bolting
• scurrying
• dashing
• barreling
• rocketing
• coursing
• scooting
• zipping
• scudding
• scrambling
• whisking
• running
• careering
• hustling
• hurtling
• darting
• humping
• bowling
• stampeding
• accelerating
• galloping
• breezing
• trotting
• sprinting
• jogging
• quickening
• speeding (up)
• hotfooting (it)
• outpacing
• overtaking
• outstripping
• outrunning
• catching up
• fast-forwarding

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of lagging

Adjective

Microsoft’s video game division plans to eliminate 3,200 jobs, or around 20% of its staff, over the next year as part of a sweeping reorganization to revive the company’s lagging games division. — Cerys Davies, Los Angeles Times, 6 July 2026

The United States typically experiences the lagging edge of Latin American displacement waves. — Newsweek Staff, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Nov. 2025

So while America is most likely still a highly desirable place for all kinds of investors, from the average person putting money into a 401(k) to a professional trader, the lagging performance this year is more than your typical year. — Christian Orozco, NBC news, 12 Nov. 2025

Layer on infrastructure costs, amortization, new storage mandates, refinery retrofits for changing crude blends and the lagging effects of the LCFS credit. — Michael Mische, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Sep. 2025

Metrics That Predict, Not Report The lagging nature of HR’s metrics compounds the problem. — Vibhas Ratanjee, Forbes.com, 11 Sep. 2025

Reporting is inconsistent and lagging. — Miami Herald, 1 July 2025

Verb

This leaves the number of vehicles hitting recyclers lagging behind but also steadily increasing. — Scott K. Johnson, ArsTechnica, 31 July 2026

Healthcare is up more than 14%, and financials are up more than 10% since June, while technology has been severely lagging. — Todd Gordon, CNBC, 29 July 2026

That gap is exactly why so many otherwise successful companies hit cash crunches, stall out during growth or make decisions based on lagging information. — Loran Armstrong, Forbes.com, 28 July 2026

California is both leading and lagging in the latest rankings unveiled on Tuesday, July 28. — Paris Barraza, USA Today, 28 July 2026

The real story isn’t one generation lagging behind or catching up. — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 25 July 2026

In other pockets of South Carolina and the US, lagging vaccination rates have let measles race ahead of the work being done to contain it. — Deidre McPhillips, CNN Money, 24 July 2026

New campaign finance reports filed with the Federal Election Commission on Wednesday continue to show Bronin and Larson as the top fundraisers and spenders, with challengers Jillian Gilchrest and Ruth Fortune lagging far behind. — Lisa Hagen, Hartford Courant, 17 July 2026

This year, Microsoft has made a stronger push to improve the Windows experience amid user complaints, competition from SteamOS, and lagging PC sales due to the memory crunch. — Jon Martindale, PC Magazine, 15 July 2026