sluggish

[ sluhg-ish ]

adjective

1. indisposed to action or exertion; lacking in energy; lazy; indolent:

   a sluggish disposition.

   Synonyms: slothful, slow

   Antonyms: active, quick

2. not acting or working with full vigor, as bodily organs:

   a sluggish liver.

3. slow to act or respond:

   a sluggish car engine.

4. moving slowly, or having little motion, as a stream.
5. slow, as motion.
6. slack, as trade, business, or sales.

sluggish

/ ˈslʌɡɪʃ /

adjective

1. lacking energy; inactive; slow-moving
2. functioning at below normal rate or level
3. exhibiting poor response to stimulation

Derived Forms

• ˈsluggishly, adverb
• ˈsluggishness, noun

Other Words From

• sluggish·ly adverb
• sluggish·ness noun
• un·sluggish adjective
• un·sluggish·ly adverb
• un·sluggish·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of sluggish¹

First recorded in 1400–50, sluggish is from the late Middle English word slugissh. See slug ¹, -ish ¹

Synonym Study

See inactive.

Example Sentences

Reducing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, restoring habitat, and cleaning up polluted sites can be a sluggish process without immediate reward.

From Popular-Science

If your internet is still sluggish, the issue may be more local.

From Quartz

Jerry Brown fired Miller in the fall of 2011 as he sought to revive California’s sluggish economy.

From ProPublica

If you’re feeling a little more sluggish than usual after months upon months of working and socializing from home, you aren’t alone.

From Popular-Science

That business was sluggish in the spring, Sibley said, though it has begun to come back over the past couple weeks.

From Digiday

Yet, this year, even with God and Country counting on us, Black Friday sales were reportedly sluggish.

From The Daily Beast

Dolores has abundant gripes, late arrivals, and a sluggish pace among them.

From The Daily Beast

But if the sluggish status quo persists, then the candidate of “hope and change” will likely leave as divisive as his predecessor.

From The Daily Beast

Local authorities and international donors have come under intense criticism for what many see as a sluggish response.

From The Daily Beast

The economy is still sluggish, unemployment is still high, and struggling families still need these benefits.

From The Daily Beast

If he had set out to arouse emotion in these two sluggish breasts he had done so with a vengeance.

From Project Gutenberg

They set their club-topsail to catch the upper airs, but the last hour was sluggish sailing.

From Project Gutenberg

The Poles were either (p. 002) dull and sluggish boors or haughty and elegant, pleasure-loving nobles.

From Project Gutenberg

The long inactive, sluggish ecclesiastics suddenly seemed to feel the vigor to resist and the power to lead.

From Project Gutenberg

All three were natives of the soil, and somewhat sluggish in nature, like its sticky red shale.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• heavy
• inactive
• lethargic
• listless
• slack
• slow
• stagnant