Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Displaying little movement or activity; slow; inactive.
  • adjective Lacking alertness, vigor, or energy; inert or indolent.
  • adjective Slow to perform or respond to stimulation.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Slow; having or giving evidence of little motion: as, a sluggish stream.
  • Idle and lazy, habitually or temporarily; indolent; slothful; dull; inactive.
  • Inert; inactive; torpid.
  • Dull; tame; stupid.
  • Synonyms Lazy, Slothful, etc. (see idle); slack, supine, phlegmatic, apathetic.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Habitually idle and lazy; slothful; dull; inactive.
  • adjective Slow; having little motion.
  • adjective Having no power to move one's self or itself; inert.
  • adjective rare Characteristic of a sluggard; dull; stupid; tame; simple.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Habitually idle and lazy; slothful; dull; inactive; as, a sluggish man.
  • adjective Slow; having little motion; as, a sluggish stream.
  • adjective Having no power to move one's self or itself; inert.
  • adjective Characteristic of a sluggard; dull; stupid; tame; simple.
  • adjective Exhibiting economic decline, inactivity, slow or subnormal growth.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective (of business) not active or brisk
  • adjective moving slowly
  • adjective slow and apathetic

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, probably from slugge, lazy person; see slug.]

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Examples

  • Hi, Gary, you mentioned I think with respect to the architectural business you used the word sluggish and I just wanted to confirm that that's just more of the general economics versus some acute factors or one-time factors that might have occurred within the quarter?

    unknown title 2011

  • The skirmishes did not appear to be linked to Thursday's country-wide demonstrations organized by the main opposition party in protest of what they call a sluggish transition to democracy.

    ANC Daily News Briefing 2005

  • Kremlin critics have blamed Prime Minister Vladimir Putin for what they call a sluggish and ineffective government response to the fires, but polls have so far shown no decline in his popularity.

    Reuters: Top News 2010

  • So Ravell went on the air and appealed for calm, while criticizing what he called a sluggish government reaction.

    FJ's Blog 2009

  • So Ravell went on the air and appealed for calm, while criticizing what he called a sluggish government reaction.

    The Herald | HeraldOnline.com - Front 2009

  • Also disturbed by what he described as sluggish and lacklustre implementation of the procurement process, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), Senator Muhammad Adamu Aliero has given August 6, 2009 as deadline for all Secretariats, Department and Agencies (SDA) to communicate the result of evaluation of bids to him or face the full wrath of the law.

    Vanguard 2009

  • So Ravell went on the air and appealed for calm, while criticizing what he called a sluggish government reaction.

    Kentucky.com: Homepage 2009

  • So Ravell went on the air and appealed for calm, while criticizing what he called a sluggish government reaction.

    unknown title 2009

  • Consider that while retail sales remain sluggish, internet sales continue to grow.

    Grant Cardone: Selling Skills or Bernanke and the Fed? Grant Cardone 2010

  • Consider that while retail sales remain sluggish, internet sales continue to grow.

    Grant Cardone: Selling Skills or Bernanke and the Fed? Grant Cardone 2010

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