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
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
While plenty of talent is coming back to Columbus, Ohio State has to speed things up offensively after playing too sluggishly this season.
—Paul Myerberg, USA Today, 2 Jan. 2026
Their survival to this day tells us Mars' mantle has evolved sluggishly over billions of years.
—Theo Burman, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Aug. 2025
Despite being sluggishly paced at times, the narrative’s twin engines generate interest nearly all of the way through the show’s seven episodes.
—Bob Strauss, San Francisco Chronicle, 13 Apr. 2023
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
While plenty of talent is coming back to Columbus, Ohio State has to speed things up offensively after playing too sluggishly this season.
—Paul Myerberg, USA Today, 2 Jan. 2026
Their survival to this day tells us Mars' mantle has evolved sluggishly over billions of years.
—Theo Burman, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Aug. 2025
Despite being sluggishly paced at times, the narrative’s twin engines generate interest nearly all of the way through the show’s seven episodes.
—Bob Strauss, San Francisco Chronicle, 13 Apr. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sluggishly
slowly
Adverb
-
Moving slowly demands presence.—
Condé Nast Traveler,
Condé Nast Traveler,
25 Mar. 2026
-
The official was one of three who compared their recent experience at NRC to being in a pot of slowly boiling water.—
Avi Asher-Schapiro,
ProPublica,
24 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Sluggishly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sluggishly. Accessed 29 Mar. 2026.
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