Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

tardy

[tahr-dee]
See more synonyms for tardy on Thesaurus.com
adjective, tar·di·er, tar·di·est.
  1. late; behind time; not on time: How tardy were you today?
  2. moving or acting slowly; slow; sluggish.
  3. delaying through reluctance.
Show More

Origin of tardy

1475–85; earlier tardive, tardif < Old French < Vulgar Latin *tardīvus, equivalent to Latin tard(us) slow + -īvus -ive
Related formstar·di·ly, adverbtar·di·ness, noun

Synonyms

See more synonyms for tardy on Thesaurus.com
1. slack. 3. dilatory.

Antonyms

1. prompt.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for tardiness

Historical Examples

  • Tardiness is reported to be much less in home credit schools.

    School Credit for Home Work

    Lewis Raymond Alderman

  • Tardiness is a disappointment and an interruption; a kind of falsehood and theft of time.

    The Choctaw Freedmen

    Robert Elliott Flickinger

  • Tardiness on the part of any pupil doing the work meant a loss of so many credits already accumulated.

    School Credit for Home Work

    Lewis Raymond Alderman

British Dictionary definitions for tardiness

tardy

adjective -dier or -diest
  1. occurring later than expectedtardy retribution
  2. slow in progress, growth, etca tardy reader
Show More
Derived Formstardily, adverbtardiness, noun

Word Origin

C15: from Old French tardif, from Latin tardus slow
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for tardiness

tardy

adj.

late 14c. (implied in tardity), from Old French tardif (12c.), from Vulgar Latin *tardivus, from Latin tardus "slow, sluggish, dull, stupid," of unknown origin. Related: Tardily; tardiness.

Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper