slowness
Americannoun
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the slow rate of movement of something; lack of speed or rapidity.
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lack of intelligence; poor ability to perceive, understand, realize, etc.; dullness.
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lack of activity or energy; the quality of not being busy; slackness.
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the quality of being unexciting or uninteresting; boring or draggy quality.
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the quality of being gradual, deliberate, or unhurried.
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the fact or state of falling behind the standard time, as of a clock.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“Henry Ford Hospital” from 1932 offers an unsparing look at the artist following a miscarriage, in which blood vessels fan out like ribbons and objects like snails hint at the slowness of her recovery.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 19, 2026
It is the gift of this slowness and attention that she wishes to impart to anyone who passes by the Toast window and accepts her invitation to share a picnic blanket.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 13, 2026
It’s a slowness she’d never had to confront, in a language she doesn’t speak.
From Slate • Feb. 1, 2026
However, critics accused the institution of a lack of transparency and slowness.
From BBC • Jan. 8, 2026
Times I have been frustrated by the slowness of words, the way even a single paragraph never seemed done.
From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
