adjective
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occurring later than expected
tardy retribution
-
slow in progress, growth, etc
a tardy reader
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of tardy
First recorded in 1475–85; earlier tardive, tardif, from Old French, from unattested Vulgar Latin tardīvus, equivalent to Latin tard(us) “slow” + -īvus adjective suffix; see -ive
Explanation
When you're tardy, you're late. If you've ever been late for school, you know about tardy, and you may have a stash of notes your teacher has sent home to your parents, informing them of your tardiness. You may be tardy for an appointment because you got stuck in traffic, or maybe you just slept late and you don't have good time management skills. Whatever the excuse, being tardy almost always annoys whoever's waiting for you. As a reality TV star once crooned, "Don't be tardy for the party." The word comes from the Latin tardus, meaning "slow."
Vocabulary lists containing tardy
Orbiting Jupiter
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The Chocolate War
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The Great Gilly Hopkins
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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.
See Examples For:
Those of us who languish in the academic wasteland are too tardy to lament, so little has changed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026
She told her teachers that she was still going to be tardy, and besides, she liked the exercise.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 9, 2026
The latest, if tardy, look at the labor market wasn’t so bad at first glance.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 20, 2025
Not even these goals were as tardy as Rio Ngumoha's 100th-minute strike on Monday night, however.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2025
I went past Mr. Turner’s office, the last thing any tardy student wanted to do.
From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam
The next morning he slept over; was tardier at his desk than he has almost ever been, arriving shortly after ten.
From Time Magazine Archive
The slight green of uncurling leaves, the airy scarlet of the maples, the bare branches of the tardier trees, opposed no barrier to the sunlight.
From To Have and to Hold by Johnston, Mary
I have previously mentioned how dependent the improvement of design and performance of aircraft has been upon the less simple and tardier development of the engine.
From Aviation in Peace and War by Sykes, Frederick Hugh, Sir
Science accounts for this sensation by supposing that one half of the brain, more agile than another, jumps to its conclusion before its tardier fellow can arrive.
From Audrey Craven by Sinclair, May
Not tardier now is Saturn than of old, Nor radiant less the burning casque of Mars.
From Poemata : Latin, Greek and Italian Poems by John Milton by Cowper, William
TAP Air Portugal is one of the tardiest of airlines.
From Seattle Times ● May 1, 2023
The tardiest opening gavel was only 15 minutes late; with Missouri's vote, Nixon's renomination came only eight minutes late.
From Time Magazine Archive
Why is it that we see there both the dawn of civilization and the tardiest development of human progress?
From Beacon Lights of History, Volume 14 The New Era; A Supplementary Volume, by Recent Writers, as Set Forth in the Preface and Table of Contents by Lord, John
Barely had the tardiest Intelligencer employees got away when the enveloping jaws of the weed closed tight, catching millions of dollars' worth of property within.
From Greener Than You Think by Moore, Ward
But Meriones, stout squire of Idomeneus, came in a spear-throw behind famous Menelaos, for tardiest of all were his sleek-coated horses, and slowest he himself to drive a chariot in the race.
From The Iliad by Homer
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.
