sluggard

American  

[sluhg-erd] / ˈslʌg ərd /

noun

1. a person who is habitually inactive or lazy.

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adjective

1. lazy; sluggardly.

sluggard British  

/ ˈslʌɡəd /

noun

1. a person who is habitually indolent

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adjective

1. lazy

Other Word Forms

• sluggardliness noun
• sluggardly adjective
• sluggardness noun

Etymology

Origin of sluggard

First recorded in 1350–1400, sluggard is from the Middle English word slogarde. See slug ¹, -ard

Explanation

Do you know anyone lazy or slothful? Then you know a sluggard: an idle or sluggish person. If you know that sluggish means slow-moving, then you have a clue to the meaning of sluggard. A sluggard is a lazy, sleepy, slow-moving person. A sluggard is likely to oversleep and even snooze through class or work. If you're alert and hard-working, no one will ever call you a sluggard or a slug. Being a sluggard is a great way to fail a class, lose a job, or just fall behind in general.

Example Sentences

With television’s new proximity to the more puritanical uses of our devices, the archetype of the beached sluggard on the couch has been smuggled into a portrait of diligence.

From The New Yorker • Jul. 6, 2016

I've never been a sluggard, and yet I've never felt that I've done one twentieth of what I was capable of doing.

From The Guardian • Jun. 14, 2013

Next day it was seen that in taking his time M. Caillaux is no sluggard.

From Time Magazine Archive

"Make him move over!" they shout as she bears down on a 55-m.p.h. sluggard in the fast lane.

From Time Magazine Archive

When I asked him why he rode so hotly on a holy quest he shouted, 'Don't keep me, I was a sluggard, and now I'm going fast for there's a lion in the way.'

From Tales from Tennyson by Bellew, Molly K.