sluggish
Americanadjective
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indisposed to action or exertion; lacking in energy; lazy; indolent.
a sluggish disposition.
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not acting or working with full vigor, as bodily organs.
a sluggish liver.
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slow to act or respond.
a sluggish car engine.
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moving slowly, or having little motion, as a stream.
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slow, as motion.
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slack, as trade, business, or sales.
adjective
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lacking energy; inactive; slow-moving
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functioning at below normal rate or level
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exhibiting poor response to stimulation
Synonym Usage
See inactive.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of sluggish
First recorded in 1400–50, sluggish is from the late Middle English word slugissh. See slug 1, -ish 1
Explanation
When you are feeling draggy — positively slug-like — you are sluggish, or slow. If cookie sales are sluggish at your bake sale, you are selling very few treats. Just about anything can be sluggish. An old computer that takes forever to load a piece of software is sluggish, as is a car that can't quite make it up a big hill. And who isn't sluggish in the morning before the first cup of coffee?! Picture a slug moving its heavy little body across a basketball court... Still going? Yes. It will take that slug forever to get to the foul line at the sluggish pace it's moving.
Vocabulary lists containing sluggish
List 12
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Unit 1: Telling Details
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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.
China is already feeling some consequences from the Strait of Hormuz disruption, adding to economic strain from persistently sluggish domestic consumption.
From Barron's ● Aug. 28, 2026
Still, the housing market—despite picking up in recent months—is expected to remain sluggish this year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
When she returned from dinner, Basu noticed Loki was a little sluggish and she worried how she and her cat would get through the night.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2026
The retailer has been refreshing its product assortment, lowering prices on some items and rejiggering its store layouts as part of a sweeping plan aimed at reversing years of sluggish quarterly sales.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
Hopefully the sunlight would make them sluggish if they had to fight.
From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan
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.
