sluggard 1 of 2

noun

ˈslə-gərd How to pronounce sluggard (audio)
Definition of sluggardnext
as in slug
a lazy person tried to wake up the sluggards who were still sleeping at that late hour

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

sluggard

2 of 2

adjective

as in slothful

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of sluggard
Noun
Slug was – is – a variant on sluggard, which was actually used as a surname for some time, apparently. — Ruth Walker, The Christian Science Monitor, 7 Sep. 2017 Clearly, supervision at your job is lax, and your sluggard classmate is taking advantage of that. — Kwame Anthony Appiah, New York Times, 11 Oct. 2017 French workers, whom the British like to dismiss as holiday-hogging sluggards, are more productive than the British. — The Economist, 31 Aug. 2017 Scar then proceeds to desolate the kingdom, with the help of hyenas, while Simba, in exile, grows up to become a pleasure-hunting, grub-eating sluggard. — Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 19 July 2019
Adjective
The stock really has not done much of anything in the last five years, the stock following a similar sluggard pattern of the company’s revenue line. — Moneyshow, Forbes, 5 Mar. 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sluggard
  1. slug
  2. slothful
  3. snail
  4. lazy
  5. drone
  6. indolent
  7. idler
  8. shiftless
Noun
  • Calendula Calendula’s fleshy leaves, stems, and flowers also draw slugs and snails away from other crops and can be interplanted in food or flower gardens for natural slug control.
    — Lauren Landers, The Spruce, 3 July 2026
  • Dunlap explains that these pungent compounds deter strawberry-loving garden pests like slugs and aphids while also acting as mild fungicides.
    — SJ McShane, Martha Stewart, 30 June 2026
Definition of slug
Adjective
  • That they would be regarded as slothful morons who aren't worth the price of a ticket of admission.
    — Jim Cramer, CNBC, 2 Feb. 2026
  • Soviet Russia, too, experienced periodic panics about slothful bureaucrats impeding the dictatorship of the proletariat.
    — Charlie Tyson, The New Yorker, 15 Mar. 2025
Definition of slothful
Noun
  • Calendula Calendula’s fleshy leaves, stems, and flowers also draw slugs and snails away from other crops and can be interplanted in food or flower gardens for natural slug control.
    — Lauren Landers, The Spruce, 3 July 2026
  • The game was crawling along at a snail’s pace with a rare boundary here and there.
    — Mohsin Kamal, New York Times, 25 June 2026
Definition of snail
Adjective
  • And just like Alito, some members of my family have forgotten our history and support Trump or favor some of his immigration policies, dismissing new arrivals as criminals or lazy.
    — Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 1 July 2026
  • Today, the park operates more than 40 family-friendly water attractions including thrilling slides, casual pools and a lazy river.
    — Colson Thayer, PEOPLE, 29 June 2026
Definition of lazy
Noun
  • The war is now concentrated in the Kordofan, Darfur and Blue Nile states, with drone warfare causing 60% of casualties, according to UNICEF.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 7 July 2026
  • The purchase reflects a broader effort to improve protection at military bases as unauthorized drone activity becomes more common.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 7 July 2026
Definition of drone
Adjective
  • Treatment for indolent systemic mastocytosis (ISM) largely focuses on preventing and controlling specific symptoms and anaphylaxis.
    — Ruth Jessen Hickman, Health, 12 June 2026
  • No, rest is for the lazy, the Caucasian adolescent, the indolent, the indulgent—until the age of thirty.
    — Taiye Selasi, New Yorker, 31 May 2026
Definition of indolent
Noun
  • Their name exudes the essence of an idler and slacker, but women’s loafers themselves are quite the opposite.
    — Gaby Keiderling, Harper's BAZAAR, 19 Jan. 2023
  • This represents the loss of an idea of what the capital should represent, the removal of a place that was an idler’s haven.
    — Anandi Mishra, The Atlantic, 30 July 2022
Definition of idler
Adjective
  • Why didn’t Tania just get one of her fellow Council wokesters to hire her shiftless, entitled kin?
    — Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 28 Sep. 2025
  • After the volunteers slink back to Paddy’s, the most shiftless person on campus will once again be Principal Coleman (Janelle James), whose ineptitude and vanity don’t prevent her from advocating for the students from time to time.
    — Hannah Giorgis, The Atlantic, 9 Jan. 2025
Definition of shiftless

Browse Nearby Words

slugfests
sluggard
sluggardly
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Sluggard.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sluggard. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

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