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sluggish

adjective

ˈslə-gish How to pronounce sluggish (audio)
Definition of sluggishnext
1
as in slow
moving or proceeding at less than the normal, desirable, or required speed the sluggish pace of the project is worrisome

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in sleepy
slow to move or act reptiles are naturally sluggish at low temperatures

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 sluggish Patriots-Seahawks was a sluggish snoozefest through three quarters. — Bobby Burack Outkick, FOXNews.com, 14 Sep. 2026 The Steelers needed a vintage Watt performance to overcome a sluggish start by Aaron Rodgers and company. — ABC News, 13 Sep. 2026 Despite his slow, ambling movement, Lee is always one step ahead of other cops, even in a foot chase where both men run at a shambling, sluggish pace. — Jake Cole, IndieWire, 10 Sep. 2026 Low vitamin D is often a culprit when someone feels sluggish and fatigued. — Helen Carefoot, Flow Space, 10 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for sluggish
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sluggish
  1. slow
  2. sleepy
  3. leisurely
  4. dull
  5. lagging
  6. lethargic
Adjective
  • Complex carbs with fiber slow digestion and sugar absorption, while protein and fat further delay digestion, helping to stabilize blood sugar.
    — Mira Miller, Verywell Health, 17 Sep. 2026
  • Longer messages mean slower communication, so people who study error-correcting codes devise more elaborate schemes to minimize the redundancy in the transmissions while maximizing the number of errors that can be corrected.
    — Jack Murtagh, Scientific American, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of slow
Adjective
  • Booksellers like Payne typically post their holdings on multiple websites, such as AbeBooks, Alibris, Amazon, and Biblio, with Alibris widely considered to be the sleepiest revenue stream of the bunch.
    — Francesca Mancino, New Yorker, 8 Sep. 2026
  • For most of their lives, the tracks were a sleepy industrial bypass known as the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway.
    — John Lippert, Chicago Tribune, 6 Sep. 2026
Definition of sleepy
Adjective
  • Before a night out filling your belly with local grub in the Old Port (which is a leisurely 20 minutes away on foot), hit the Five of Clubs bar for a seasonal drink like the cantaloupe- and lemon-laced Melancholia, along with half a dozen oysters.
    — Lori Keong, Architectural Digest, 7 Sep. 2026
  • In lower Manhattan and beyond — caught by paparazzi — he can be seen out and about in big sunglasses and tiny shorts, taking leisurely strolls with his fiancée, Zoë Kravitz.
    — Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of leisurely
Adjective
  • Coach Sean McVay’s strategy of arriving the day before the game backfired and resulted in a dull performance by a team featuring some of the NFL’s biggest stars.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 11 Sep. 2026
  • If Khrzhanovsky’s goal was re-creating social and cultural conditions to capture drama at its purest, then the result merely proves Hitchcock’s refrain that drama is life with dull bits cut out.
    — Siddhant Adlakha, IndieWire, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of dull
Adjective
  • Every initiative should identify its operational leading indicator, financial lagging indicator, value owner and realization mechanism.
    — Todd Bernson, Forbes.com, 6 Aug. 2026
  • Just last month, Microsoft began layoffs of 20% of its Xbox employees as part of a sweeping reorganization to revive the company’s lagging games division.
    — Cerys Davies, Los Angeles Times, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of lagging
Adjective
  • The national committee has faced a host of criticism from other Democrats for its lethargic fundraising, including calls for DNC Chair Ken Martin to step down that have so far gone unheeded.
    — Nicholas Wu, semafor.com, 8 Sep. 2026
  • The show was also horribly paced, with way too many pointless instrumental spotlights that somehow managed to come across as both showy and lethargic at the same time.
    — Jim Harrington, Mercury News, 6 Sep. 2026
Definition of lethargic

Browse Nearby Words

slugging (down)
sluggish
sluggishly
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Cite this Entry

“Sluggish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sluggish. Accessed 20 Sep. 2026.

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