Synonyms of sluggishly

sluggishly

adverb

as in slowly

at a pace that is less than usual, desirable, or expected

the car responds sluggishly until it warms up

Synonyms & Similar Words

• slowly
• cautiously
• slow
• leisurely
• laggardly
• tardily
• deliberately
• carefully
• purposefully
• pokily
• heavily
• ploddingly

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• rapidly
• quickly
• swiftly
• briskly
• fast
• speedily
• hastily
• swift
• immediately
• apace
• promptly
• quick
• readily
• soon
• fleetly
• recklessly
• snappily
• meteorically
• impulsively
• abruptly
• suddenly
• rashly
• impetuously
• presto
• full tilt
• pronto
• posthaste

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of sluggishly

The Bulls moved sluggishly on defense, failing to show their hands or create the basic pressure required to speed up an opponent. — Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 5 Nov. 2026

San Antonio's offense started sluggishly in two previous home games, but rolled to season highs for points in any quarter and half with 39 points in the first period and 80 by halftime. — CBS News, 28 Oct. 2026

Current leaks through transistors that should be switched off, and electrons move more sluggishly through channels only a few atoms thick. — Tejasri Gururaj, Interesting Engineering, 25 Sep. 2026

The fish looks straight at me, flopping sluggishly from side to side. — Literary Hub, 17 Sep. 2026

Hayes’ 3-pointer from the midcourt logo to end the first quarter keyed the Valkyries’ 24-9 second-quarter surge and enlivened a Golden State group that had started the game sluggishly. — Christian Babcock, Mercury News, 18 Aug. 2026

Verstappen qualified second but stalled at the start, falling to last place as his car moved sluggishly. — Sahil Kapur, NBC news, 7 June 2026

The Knicks came out of halftime sluggishly, falling behind by 13 points in the third quarter. — Alejandro Avila, FOXNews.com, 4 June 2026

Voters, meanwhile, continued to respond somewhat sluggishly to the race, with early ballot returns slow particularly among Democrats, The Sacramento Bee reported Monday. — Andrew Graham june 1, Sacbee.com, 1 June 2026