Dictionary

sluggish en · ADJ

Pronunciation

(UK) audio
/ˈslʌɡɪʃ/
[ˈslʌɡɪʃ]

Etymology

Etymology tree English slug Proto-Indo-European *-iskos Proto-Germanic *-iskaz Proto-West Germanic *-isk Old English -isċ Middle English -isch English -ish English sluggish From slug + -ish.

Meanings

Habitually idle and lazy; slothful; dull; inactive
- He helps us to understand the insignificant points which mark the rapid undercurrents of the seemingly sluggish soul of Khalid. 1910 January 12, Ameen Rihani, “On the Wharf of Enchantment”, in The Book of Khalid, New York, N.Y.: Dodd, Mead and Company, published October 1911, →OCLC, book the first (In the Exchange), page 34:
- [I]f he leaves the School poſſeſs'd of a ſluggiſh indolent Diſpoſition, and of Learning rather forc'd upon him than choſen, it is probable he will forget what he brought thence; but if he be active, emulous and aſpiring, he will certainly find Time for Reading and Thinking; for tho' it be a homely, it is a true Saying, that where there is a Will, there is a Way. 1724, Pharmacopolæ Justificati: Or, Apothecaries Vindicated from the Imputation of Ignorance. […], London: […] J. Roberts, […], →OCLC, page 6:
- And the sluggish land slumbers in utter neglect. c. 1874, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Ovid in Exile:
- a sluggish man
Slow; having little motion.
- Vp thou tame River, vvake; / And from the liquid limbes this ſlumber ſhake: / Thou drovvn'st thy ſelfe in inofficious ſleepe; / And theſe thy ſluggiſh vvaters ſeeme to creepe, / Rather than flovv. 1604 March 25 (first performance; Gregorian calendar), B[en] Jon[son], “The Pegme at Fen-church”, in B. Jon: His Part of King James His Royall and Magnificent Entertainement through His Honorable Cittie of London, Thurseday the 15. of March. 1603. […], London: […] V[alentine] S[immes] [and George Eld] for Edward Blount, published 1604, →OCLC, signature B3, verso:
- [T]he stock of capital is necessarily a sluggish time series, while output is capable of making wide swings in short intervals[.] 1970, Robert M. Solow, Growth Theory: An Exposition, Oxford University Press, page 3:
- The head of the North Tyne is reached at Deadwater, 36 miles from Hexham. The river has its source just on the English side of the Border, at the foot of Peel Fell, the most westerly spur of the Cheviots. At first it is a sluggish stream (hence the name Deadwater) but begins to flow more swiftly before it reaches Kielder. 1955 September, H. A. Vallance, “The Border Counties Line”, in Railway Magazine, page 594:
- We float upon a sluggish stream, / We ride no rapids mad, / While life is all a tempered dream / And every joy half sad. 1913, Paul Laurence Dunbar, At Sunset Time:
Having no power to move oneself or itself; inert.
- Matter, being impotent, sluggish, and inactive, hath no power to stir or move itself. 1695, John Woodward, An Essay toward a Natural History of the Earth and Terrestrial Bodies:
Characteristic of a sluggard; dull; stupid; tame; simple.
Exhibiting economic decline, inactivity, slow, or subnormal growth.
- Inflation has been rising despite a sluggish economy.
- After an initial bounce back, the post-Covid Chinese economy has turned sluggish. Its property market - once a key driver of growth - is now mired in a credit crisis, exacerbating a domestic "debt bomb" that has ballooned from years of borrowing by local government and state-owned enterprises. 2023 November 15, Tessa Wong, “Xi Jinping arrives in US as his Chinese Dream sputters”, in BBC:

Forms

Spelling	Features	Source
most sluggish	Degree=Sup	lexicographic
sluggishest	Degree=Sup	lexicographic
sluggisher	Degree=Cmp	lexicographic
more sluggish	Degree=Cmp	lexicographic

Translations (104)

es pendejo (characteristic of a sluggard; dull; stupid; tame; simple) · es tarado (characteristic of a sluggard; dull; stupid; tame; simple) · de schwerfällig (habitually idle and lazy; slothful; dull; inactive) · pt lento (slow; having little motion) · gl zamarrón (habitually idle and lazy; slothful; dull; inactive) · mi pūtumu (slow; having little motion) · fi heikko (slow; having little motion) · es perezoso (habitually idle and lazy; slothful; dull; inactive) · ckb بێ تاقەت (having no power to move oneself or itself; inert) · tr miskin (characteristic of a sluggard; dull; stupid; tame; simple) · tr miskin (habitually idle and lazy; slothful; dull; inactive) · gl lerchán (habitually idle and lazy; slothful; dull; inactive) · tr ağır (slow; having little motion) · ru неповоротливый (having no power to move oneself or itself; inert) · de langsam (slow; having little motion) · fr faiblard (slow; having little motion) · de faul (habitually idle and lazy; slothful; dull; inactive) · ru ме́дленный (slow; having little motion) · bg бавен (slow; having little motion) · fi hidas (characteristic of a sluggard; dull; stupid; tame; simple) · el νωθρός (habitually idle and lazy; slothful; dull; inactive) · pt vagabundo (habitually idle and lazy; slothful; dull; inactive) · la languidus (habitually idle and lazy; slothful; dull; inactive) · ccc achwayi (habitually idle and lazy; slothful; dull; inactive) · pt moroso (slow; having little motion) · el άτονος (habitually idle and lazy; slothful; dull; inactive) · nl langzaam (slow; having little motion) · es apagado (having no power to move oneself or itself; inert) · fi laiska (habitually idle and lazy; slothful; dull; inactive) · fi verkkainen (having no power to move oneself or itself; inert) · es desganado (having no power to move oneself or itself; inert) · fi veltto (habitually idle and lazy; slothful; dull; inactive) · fi hidasälyinen (characteristic of a sluggard; dull; stupid; tame; simple) · pt vadio (habitually idle and lazy; slothful; dull; inactive) · sa मन्दर (habitually idle and lazy; slothful; dull; inactive) · de träge (slow; having little motion) · pl rozlazły (habitually idle and lazy; slothful; dull; inactive) · ru инертный (having no power to move oneself or itself; inert) · fi hiljainen (slow; having little motion) · es ralentizado (slow; having little motion) · grc νωχελής (habitually idle and lazy; slothful; dull; inactive) · de lustlos (habitually idle and lazy; slothful; dull; inactive) · pl ślamazarny (slow; having little motion) · grc νωθρός (characteristic of a sluggard; dull; stupid; tame; simple) · ru медли́тельный (habitually idle and lazy; slothful; dull; inactive) · fi verkkainen (characteristic of a sluggard; dull; stupid; tame; simple) · pl ślamazarny (habitually idle and lazy; slothful; dull; inactive) · tr durgun (having no power to move oneself or itself; inert) · fr rétamé (having no power to move oneself or itself; inert) · bg муден (slow; having little motion) · ru вялый (habitually idle and lazy; slothful; dull; inactive) · gl lerdo (habitually idle and lazy; slothful; dull; inactive) · tr uyuz (habitually idle and lazy; slothful; dull; inactive) · pt devagar (characteristic of a sluggard; dull; stupid; tame; simple) · gl harón (habitually idle and lazy; slothful; dull; inactive) · tr aheste (slow; having little motion) · gl náparo (habitually idle and lazy; slothful; dull; inactive) · es lerdo (slow; having little motion) · hi शिथिल (slow; having little motion) · fr poussif (slow; having little motion) · mi pūroto (slow; having little motion) · grc νωθρός (habitually idle and lazy; slothful; dull; inactive) · sl šibek (having no power to move oneself or itself; inert) · de lahm (having no power to move oneself or itself; inert) · hi शिथिल (habitually idle and lazy; slothful; dull; inactive) · de kraftlos (having no power to move oneself or itself; inert) · mi pōngenge (having no power to move oneself or itself; inert) · ru заторможенный (characteristic of a sluggard; dull; stupid; tame; simple) · mi pūrotoroto (slow; having little motion) · bg мързелив (habitually idle and lazy; slothful; dull; inactive) · fa تنبل (habitually idle and lazy; slothful; dull; inactive) · mi ukauka (slow; having little motion) · fi jähmeä (having no power to move oneself or itself; inert) · mi takurutu (slow; having little motion) · mi ukauka (habitually idle and lazy; slothful; dull; inactive) · mi tūrūruhi (having no power to move oneself or itself; inert) · sl len (habitually idle and lazy; slothful; dull; inactive) · tr tutuk (having no power to move oneself or itself; inert) · fi hidas (habitually idle and lazy; slothful; dull; inactive) · bg ленив (habitually idle and lazy; slothful; dull; inactive) · la ignavus (habitually idle and lazy; slothful; dull; inactive) · de schleppend (having no power to move oneself or itself; inert) · de schwach (habitually idle and lazy; slothful; dull; inactive) · ota تنبل (habitually idle and lazy; slothful; dull; inactive) · fr naze (having no power to move oneself or itself; inert) · cmn 緩慢 /缓慢 (slow; having little motion) · cmn 懶惰 /懒惰 (habitually idle and lazy; slothful; dull; inactive) · fi hidas (slow; having little motion) · de bräsig (habitually idle and lazy; slothful; dull; inactive) · ga ceanntrom (habitually idle and lazy; slothful; dull; inactive) · sl počasen (slow; having little motion) · pt inerte (having no power to move oneself or itself; inert) · ga marbhánta (habitually idle and lazy; slothful; dull; inactive) · ru лени́вый (habitually idle and lazy; slothful; dull; inactive) · hi आलसी (habitually idle and lazy; slothful; dull; inactive) · de inaktiv (habitually idle and lazy; slothful; dull; inactive) · ota هایلاز (habitually idle and lazy; slothful; dull; inactive) · mi hōtoa (slow; having little motion) · mi takurutu (habitually idle and lazy; slothful; dull; inactive) · es desganado (habitually idle and lazy; slothful; dull; inactive) · tr tutuk (characteristic of a sluggard; dull; stupid; tame; simple) · es huevón (habitually idle and lazy; slothful; dull; inactive) · tr uyuşuk (habitually idle and lazy; slothful; dull; inactive) · es haragán (habitually idle and lazy; slothful; dull; inactive)

sluggish en · ADJ

Pronunciation

Etymology

Meanings

Forms

Antonyms

Deriveds

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Translations (104)