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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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:
She says states accepted tardy mail ballots amid World War I, while seven authorized the practice during the 1940s.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 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
No one paid attention to the two tardy guests who appeared at the door, letting in a gust of wind, till suddenly a woman screamed and threw her arms about a snow-covered figure.
From "The Witch of Blackbird Pond" by Elizabeth George Speare
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
So there, Nor tardier, to his toil the Lord of Flame 478 Springs from his couch of down, the workmen's task to frame.
From The Æneid of Virgil Translated into English Verse by E. Fairfax Taylor by Edward Fairfax Taylor
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 Sir Frederick Hugh Sykes
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 May Sinclair
Had the deed been premeditated, his repentance would have been tardier.
From Life of Lord Byron, Vol. 5 With His Letters and Journals by Thomas Moore
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
Each waited long before his opportunity came; each learned that the "tardiest of the immortals are the boon Hours."
From The Galaxy, April, 1877 Vol. XXIII.—April, 1877.—No. 4. by Various
Her throat was bare, and her dusky hair was a shade dishevelled, and in her meditative eyes he caught the flicker of her tardiest dream just as it vanished.
From Gallantry Dizain des Fetes Galantes by James Branch Cabell
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.
