1
as in slow
moving or proceeding at less than the normal, desirable, or required speed
the sluggish pace of the project is worrisome
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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
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Recent Examples of sluggish
After years of sluggish activity, sidelined homebuyers may finally be ready to jump back in, with mortgage rates now at their lowest level in more than a year and home prices softening across many major metro areas.
—
Samantha Delouya, CNN Money, 23 Oct. 2025
But this rebound has been mostly dismissed as too sluggish to matter for several centuries.
—Evan Howell, Quanta Magazine, 20 Oct. 2025
At a time of sluggish fashion sales and low consumer confidence, the large crowd in line outside Nude Project’s new pop-up store in Miami earlier this month could come across as unexpected.
—Martino Carrera, Footwear News, 20 Oct. 2025
Starving children stopped playing and appeared sluggish or apathetic; cognitive development seemed to halt or even regress.
—Clayton Dalton, New Yorker, 18 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sluggish
Samantha Delouya, CNN Money, 23 Oct. 2025
But this rebound has been mostly dismissed as too sluggish to matter for several centuries.
—Evan Howell, Quanta Magazine, 20 Oct. 2025
At a time of sluggish fashion sales and low consumer confidence, the large crowd in line outside Nude Project’s new pop-up store in Miami earlier this month could come across as unexpected.
—Martino Carrera, Footwear News, 20 Oct. 2025
Starving children stopped playing and appeared sluggish or apathetic; cognitive development seemed to halt or even regress.
—Clayton Dalton, New Yorker, 18 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sluggish
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sluggish
Adjective
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Tiles also exhibited hysteresis, which was smaller at slower speeds due to the rubber’s viscoelastic properties, as reported by Nanowerk.—
Jijo Malayil,
Interesting Engineering,
2 Nov. 2025
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Levi, an electrical engineer who founded MicroKits in 2020, has had to raise prices, slow production and pause plans to launch a new product – Banan-a-Synth – that lets kids turn a bunch of bananas into a kind of keyboard.—
Maureen Groppe,
USA Today,
2 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Here, then, are 8 financial fixes for anyone with an hour to spare on a sleepy Sunday morning.—
Daniel de Visé,
USA Today,
2 Nov. 2025
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For months, New Jersey’s 2025 governor’s race was considered sleepy political theater—the kind expected to reaffirm the state’s blue credentials before national operatives move on.—
Nik Popli,
Time,
30 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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While the original line was built for industry, pleasure excursions resumed 59 years ago, allowing visitors to experience the same scenic route at a more leisurely pace.—
Kristine Hansen,
Travel + Leisure,
29 Oct. 2025
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Kayaking - While kayaking can be a leisurely activity, strong currents or capsizing can require emergency services, especially in more remote locations like sea caves.—
Kathleen Wong,
USA Today,
28 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Instead, watching Charles attempt to insert himself into the Garfield Administration by forging papers and sneaking into buildings feels repetitive and a bit dull.—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
6 Nov. 2025
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Their life in Watertown had been ordinary, maybe even dull sometimes.—
Jamie Thompson,
The Atlantic,
6 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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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
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Metrics That Predict, Not Report The lagging nature of HR’s metrics compounds the problem.—
Vibhas Ratanjee,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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At just 5 weeks old and weighing just over 4 pounds, Lilly was lethargic, withdrawn and appeared seriously unwell.—
Alice Gibbs,
MSNBC Newsweek,
21 Oct. 2025
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The market is lethargic nationwide, too, with 345,016 sales, down 9% in a year and 18% below average.—
Jonathan Lansner,
Oc Register,
16 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sluggish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sluggish. Accessed 8 Nov. 2025.
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