How to Use sluggish in a Sentence

sluggish

adjective
  • The game picked up after a sluggish start.
  • The hour delay caused both teams to be sluggish out of the gate.
    — Scott Springer, The Enquirer, 29 Oct. 2022
  • Sims is off to a sluggish start, throwing a pick in each of the first two games.
    — Mark Heim | [email protected], al, 17 Sep. 2022
  • But the pace of surgeries there was also too sluggish for his taste.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 7 Sep. 2022
  • But a more sluggish rate would still lead to lots of comeback cases.
    — Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 27 May 2022
  • State politicians are aware of this problem but have been sluggish to act.
    — Leah Rubin Shen, The Mercury News, 9 Aug. 2024
  • Despite the sluggish pace of sales, home prices have kept climbing.
    — Samantha Delouya, CNN Money, 5 Mar. 2026
  • The result is not just sluggish but overindulgent.
    — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 18 Mar. 2026
  • Only on the way home did my thoughts begin to feel sluggish, like a fog was rolling across my brain.
    — Tove Danovich, The Atlantic, 6 Oct. 2023
  • Minnesota got off to a sluggish start and trailed by nine after one.
    — Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 1 Mar. 2026
  • No one likes to go to a restaurant and endure sluggish service.
    — Christopher L. Gasper, BostonGlobe.com, 28 Feb. 2023
  • Ditch that sluggish laptop and upgrade to a desktop on the cheap.
    — Jade Chung-Lee, PCMAG, 8 Oct. 2024
  • Mooresville got off to a sluggish start, turning the ball over twice in the first four minutes of the game.
    — Matthew Vantryon, The Indianapolis Star, 21 Oct. 2022
  • Despite the sluggish all-around game, Green Bay got the job done.
    — Evan Massey, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Oct. 2025
  • Another flat, sluggish start like this one, and the Sun will be sunk.
    — Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 21 Aug. 2022
  • While the number of homes on the market have increased, sales are still sluggish.
    — Phillip Molnar, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 June 2025
  • That appears to be the same this morning, with stocks looking sluggish.
    — Cnn Business, CNN, 8 Sep. 2021
  • Clot formation is a health risk arising from sluggish blood flow through the veins.
    — Bryant Stamford, Louisville Courier Journal, 2 Oct. 2025
  • Even though my brain felt like it had been superpowered, my body felt heavy and sluggish.
    — Ayana Underwood, Outside, 20 Sep. 2025
  • The outcomes were clear, but the market was sluggish to notice.
    — Jim Osman, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2025
  • Ham had approached Westbrook about the change as the team tries to shake its sluggish start.
    — Brian Hall, ajc, 29 Oct. 2022
  • In the meantime, their team’s performance has been sluggish at best.
    — Dan Schlossberg, Forbes.com, 14 May 2025
  • Those weren’t the only sluggish offenses of the day.
    — The Athletic Nfl Staff, New York Times, 12 Oct. 2025
  • But the Wild was in rally mode early in the game after a sluggish start.
    — Sarah McLellan, Star Tribune, 7 May 2021
  • In both games, a sluggish first period set the pace for the remainder of the game.
    — Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 15 May 2024
  • One study has traced a buildup of iron in aging brains, linking it to sluggish cognition.
    — Pranjal Malewar, New Atlas, 2 Sep. 2025
  • Target has been fighting to return to growth after years of sluggish sales.
    — Alex Harring, CNBC, 24 Oct. 2025
  • The sun came out again, inflamed the wet kunai grass and dried the earth whose moisture rose in sluggish clouds of mist.
    — David Denby, The New Yorker, 19 Dec. 2022
  • But despite the relaxed rules, progress in LA has been sluggish.
    — Umair Irfan, Wired News, 19 July 2025
  • Transit ridership is still sluggish in many cities.
    — Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN Money, 10 Sep. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sluggish.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: