as in slowly
at a pace that is less than usual, desirable, or expected
the car responds sluggishly until it warms up
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Recent Examples of sluggishly
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
Ratcliffe attended that loss to Leeds at Old Trafford, a display which started sluggishly and drew criticism for Carrick over his substitutions.
—Laurie Whitwell, New York Times, 24 May 2026
Trump has repeatedly declared victory in the war with Iran as peace talks and nuclear negotiations move sluggishly, claiming the country’s military assets have been destroyed.
—Antonio Pequeño Iv, Forbes.com, 22 May 2026
Polaritons move relatively sluggishly—around 100 times slower than the speed of light.
—Adam Kovac, Scientific American, 30 Apr. 2026
Lincoln-Way East started sluggishly, to say the least, and trailed 7-4 after one quarter before Brown entered the game and scored seven points in the second quarter.
—Steve Millar, Chicago Tribune, 11 Feb. 2026
Cold weather slows the chemical reactions in these batteries, with the lithium ions moving more sluggishly through the electrolyte liquid.
—Miriam Fauzia, Dallas Morning News, 26 Jan. 2026
Quidone walked past a correction officer, looking sick, and again vomited into a dayroom trash bin before moving sluggishly back to his cell.
—John Annese, New York Daily News, 16 Jan. 2026
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
Ratcliffe attended that loss to Leeds at Old Trafford, a display which started sluggishly and drew criticism for Carrick over his substitutions.
—Laurie Whitwell, New York Times, 24 May 2026
Trump has repeatedly declared victory in the war with Iran as peace talks and nuclear negotiations move sluggishly, claiming the country’s military assets have been destroyed.
—Antonio Pequeño Iv, Forbes.com, 22 May 2026
Polaritons move relatively sluggishly—around 100 times slower than the speed of light.
—Adam Kovac, Scientific American, 30 Apr. 2026
Lincoln-Way East started sluggishly, to say the least, and trailed 7-4 after one quarter before Brown entered the game and scored seven points in the second quarter.
—Steve Millar, Chicago Tribune, 11 Feb. 2026
Cold weather slows the chemical reactions in these batteries, with the lithium ions moving more sluggishly through the electrolyte liquid.
—Miriam Fauzia, Dallas Morning News, 26 Jan. 2026
Quidone walked past a correction officer, looking sick, and again vomited into a dayroom trash bin before moving sluggishly back to his cell.
—John Annese, New York Daily News, 16 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sluggishly
slowly
Adverb
-
Five or six men in dark trousers, with untucked shirts and loose jackets, hands in their pockets, shouldering off the wall and cutting slowly across the street, angling into the women’s path.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 June 2026
-
As the ferry slowly pulled into the Ishigaki port on May 29, a group of people waved the Taiwan flag and brandished a banner to welcome the first batch of visitors.—
Wayne Chang,
CNN Money,
3 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Sluggishly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sluggishly. Accessed 8 Jun. 2026.
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