as in thickness
the quality or state of lacking intelligence or quickness of mind
her natural shyness was sometimes mistaken for slowness by people who did not know her well
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Recent Examples of slowness
Everything—the light, the salt, the slowness—conspires to shift your inner tempo.
—
Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 June 2026
This could be the trickiest proposal given the relative slowness of governments in general.
—Anna Marie De La Fuente, Variety, 18 May 2026
The company sees slowness not as a limitation, but as a strategic asset that reduces risk, trims costs, and eases environmental impact.
—Chris Young, Interesting Engineering, 14 May 2026
The slowness of encryption forces them to triage.
—Julian Lucas, New Yorker, 20 Apr. 2026
Julia's confession Fed up with local law enforcement's slowness and unresponsiveness, Christine and Katas eventually get FBI agent Dawn Martin on the case.
—Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 8 Apr. 2026
By the time symptoms first appear, the majority of these cells are lost forever, meaning the disease can progress for years before any of the telltale physical symptoms emerge—tremors, stiffness and slowness of movement, among others.
—Todd Weissman, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Mar. 2026
The slowness of the day, the blue sky rising tall above the house—a house Daithí has built for her and their two girls—Eloise, their baby, will sleep here, in the shade, windows open to the sea air.
—Literary Hub, 23 Mar. 2026
Learning to sit with that uncertainty – to tolerate the slowness and mess of thinking things through rather than reaching for the frictionless answer – is where discernment begins.
—Kristi Girdharry, The Conversation, 16 Mar. 2026
Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 June 2026
This could be the trickiest proposal given the relative slowness of governments in general.
—Anna Marie De La Fuente, Variety, 18 May 2026
The company sees slowness not as a limitation, but as a strategic asset that reduces risk, trims costs, and eases environmental impact.
—Chris Young, Interesting Engineering, 14 May 2026
The slowness of encryption forces them to triage.
—Julian Lucas, New Yorker, 20 Apr. 2026
Julia's confession Fed up with local law enforcement's slowness and unresponsiveness, Christine and Katas eventually get FBI agent Dawn Martin on the case.
—Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 8 Apr. 2026
By the time symptoms first appear, the majority of these cells are lost forever, meaning the disease can progress for years before any of the telltale physical symptoms emerge—tremors, stiffness and slowness of movement, among others.
—Todd Weissman, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Mar. 2026
The slowness of the day, the blue sky rising tall above the house—a house Daithí has built for her and their two girls—Eloise, their baby, will sleep here, in the shade, windows open to the sea air.
—Literary Hub, 23 Mar. 2026
Learning to sit with that uncertainty – to tolerate the slowness and mess of thinking things through rather than reaching for the frictionless answer – is where discernment begins.
—Kristi Girdharry, The Conversation, 16 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for slowness
Noun
-
If thickness varies greatly, pound to an even thickness of about 1/2 inch.—
Emily Weinstein,
Twin Cities,
4 June 2026
-
Once your hair is fully coated in the product, section it into two parts (or more, depending on your hair's thickness and density).—
Amanda Le,
InStyle,
4 June 2026
Noun
-
In an email to Krebs, Valadon claimed that the repo’s commit logs show that GitHub’s default protections against committing secrets—protections designed to protect unwitting or unskilled developers against exactly this kind of stupidness—had been disabled by the repo’s administrator.—
Lee Hutchinson,
ArsTechnica,
19 May 2026
Noun
-
Use a dry microfiber cloth to thoroughly dry the surface right away, as standing water can seep into the pores of the stone and cause staining or dullness over time.—
Daley Quinn,
Southern Living,
6 June 2026
-
After a rinse, the mud revealed perfectly polished skin, relieved of dullness, redness, and clogged pores and blackheads—leaving me glowing from the inside and out.—
Essence,
Essence,
12 May 2026
Noun
-
Unlike its sibling concepts of dumbness and idiocy, stupidity isn’t really a personality trait.—
Jonny Thomson,
Big Think,
11 Feb. 2026
-
Compare that to punk rock, which used dumbness as a tactic.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
14 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Don’t just try to be brilliant; focus on avoiding stupidity.—
Nilton Bernini,
Forbes.com,
1 June 2026
-
Nobody doggedly builds a stand-up career that takes them from clubs to theaters to selling out arena tours from a foundation of genuine stupidity.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
28 May 2026
Noun
-
Women approaching perimenopause, or anyone with a family history of osteoporosis, may benefit from talking to a doctor about bone density screening before a fracture forces the conversation.—
Allison Palmer,
Kansas City Star,
4 June 2026
-
The Joybird Carin armless love seat delivers with its two-pound high-density polyurethane foam core bench cushion seat.—
Yelena Moroz Alpert,
Architectural Digest,
4 June 2026
Noun
-
Tiernan is tall but carries the denseness of frame and core strength of a guard.—
Matthew Mowery,
Chicago Tribune,
25 Apr. 2026
-
Understand how rye works in baking Though dark, dense rye bread is delicious, rye flour does not inherently create denseness in other baked goods.—
The Washington Post,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
8 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The project posed several issues for an artist who had always emphasized clarity and simplicity in his solitary picture-taking.—
James Quandt,
Artforum,
2 June 2026
-
Baoase is also transporting, as any memorable hotel should be, with a strong Asian-esque design that includes ubiquitous Balinese Hindu statues, idols, and sculptures, and a reliance on simplicity over dazzle.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
2 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Slowness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/slowness. Accessed 9 Jun. 2026.
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