as in slug
a lazy person
tried to wake up the sluggards who were still sleeping at that late hour
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in slothful
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of 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
Moneyshow, Forbes, 5 Mar. 2021
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
-
The institute and federal ocean officials say those appendages, called cerata, hold the stinging cells in a concentrated form, making the slug’s sting especially potent.—
Dante Motley,
Austin American Statesman,
11 Mar. 2026
-
Among its many benefits, diatomaceous earth (DE) can control pests as varied as earwigs, caterpillars, ants and aphids, and keep slugs and snails out of garden beds, too.—
Lauren Landers,
The Spruce,
10 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
That they would be regarded as slothful morons who aren't worth the price of a ticket of admission.—
Jim Cramer,
CNBC,
2 Feb. 2026
-
Soviet Russia, too, experienced periodic panics about slothful bureaucrats impeding the dictatorship of the proletariat.—
Charlie Tyson,
The New Yorker,
15 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
Diatomaceous earth is effective against most pests with exoskeletons, as well as slugs and snails.—
Lauren Landers,
The Spruce,
10 Mar. 2026
-
The infection is often spread by people either eating undercooked snails or slugs, or through people eating raw produce that has whole or parts of infected snails or slugs, according to the report.—
Caleb Lunetta,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
For decades, road-trippers zoomed right past Wimberley, Texas—with its scenic vistas, untamed terrain, lazy tubing rivers, blooming wildflower fields, and tiny but tight-knit community.—
Kaitlyn Yarborough,
Southern Living,
13 Mar. 2026
-
Float down a natural lazy river.—
Carley Rojas Avila,
Travel + Leisure,
10 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Several companies manufacture the drones under license, including TAF Industries, UNWAVE, and SKYRIPER.—
Sujita Sinha,
Interesting Engineering,
16 Mar. 2026
-
These professionals apply data analytics, GPS, sensor technology, and drone usage to optimize crop yields and input use.—
Metro Creative Services,
Boston Herald,
16 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Every 4:3 shot is framed to maximize the social verticality of the club, and every sequence is edited to evoke the indolent energy of a hot car on a hot summer’s day.—
David Ehrlich,
IndieWire,
23 Jan. 2026
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There are two types: Hodgkin lymphoma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma, which can be aggressive or indolent, according to the Cleveland Clinic.—
Escher Walcott,
PEOPLE,
21 Jan. 2026
Noun
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His discoveries promise to upset the gaming tables of every school of thought that wagers on new and untested art for idlers’ rewards: the love of novelty, the will to make or unmake reputations, the wish to be hip or au courant.—
Mark Greif,
Harper's Magazine,
26 July 2024
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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
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
-
The film, like How to Train Your Dragon, is about a shiftless youngster (Lilo, a Hawaiian girl who has been acting out since the death of her parents) bonding with a fantasy creature (Stitch, a blue alien experiment designed as a weapon of destruction).—
David Sims,
The Atlantic,
13 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sluggard.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sluggard. Accessed 16 Mar. 2026.
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