tardy

[tahr-dee]

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adjective, tar·di·er, tar·di·est.

late; behind time; not on time: How tardy were you today?
moving or acting slowly; slow; sluggish.
delaying through reluctance.

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 for tardy

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1. slack. 3. dilatory.

Antonyms for tardy

1. prompt.

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

Related Words for tardiness

delay, detention, slowness

Examples from the Web for tardiness

Historical Examples of tardiness

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

occurring later than expectedtardy retribution
slow in progress, growth, etca tardy reader

Derived Formstardily, adverbtardiness, noun

Word Origin for tardy

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.