as in leisurely
moving or proceeding at less than the normal, desirable, or required speed
I hate being stuck behind laggard drivers on the freeway
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in snail
someone who moves slowly or more slowly than others
tried to spur on the laggards at the back of the line during the hike
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of laggard
Ron Amadeo, Ars Technica, 21 Mar. 2022
However, the American pandemic response has also been faulted for an at times laggard pace at tracking and analyzing the spread of the virus compared to its counterparts abroad.
—Alexander Tin, CBS News, 14 Mar. 2022
Mark Z. Barabak, Mercury News, 11 Mar. 2026
And yet the Democrat is bumping along near the bottom, a blip in polls and a laggard in the money chase.
—Los Angeles Times, 8 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for laggard
Adjective
These are all new cores from ARM, and the big and little cores are 64-bit only, with only the medium cores able to run any laggard 32-bit applications.
—Ron Amadeo, Ars Technica, 21 Mar. 2022
However, the American pandemic response has also been faulted for an at times laggard pace at tracking and analyzing the spread of the virus compared to its counterparts abroad.
—Alexander Tin, CBS News, 14 Mar. 2022
Noun
And yet the Democrat is bumping along near the bottom, a blip in polls and a laggard in the money chase.
—Mark Z. Barabak, Mercury News, 11 Mar. 2026
And yet the Democrat is bumping along near the bottom, a blip in polls and a laggard in the money chase.
—Los Angeles Times, 8 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for laggard
Recent Examples of Synonyms for laggard
Adjective
-
Many Parisian restaurants are relatively small, so tables fill up quickly and stay filled because dining is a leisurely event, with tables turning over less frequently.—
Eve Chen,
USA Today,
2 Apr. 2026
-
By the 1950s Madras print in the United States had become a popular style for Ivy League students, gentleman’s business attire, and leisurely vacation wear.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
31 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
There are 20 arrondissements within Paris, which spiral out like a snail’s shell with one in the center and 20 at the edge.—
Eve Chen,
USA Today,
2 Apr. 2026
-
Ripa asked at the time, inquiring about the awkward positioning of snails in the act.—
Joey Nolfi,
Entertainment Weekly,
1 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
In fact, businesses hired workers at their slowest pace since 2011, excluding the onset of the pandemic in 2020.—
Morgan Chittum,
CNBC,
3 Apr. 2026
-
The area’s large tourist population contributes a constant volume of unfamiliar drivers to already heavily congested roads, with traffic patterns that shift significantly between peak tourist season and the summer months but never truly slow to manageable levels on the area’s major corridors.—
Anton Lucanus
April 3,
Miami Herald,
3 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
The lagging percentage of women film directors last year is a clear sign that the industry is going backward, said Kirsten Schaffer, chief executive of WIF, which advocates for women in Hollywood.—
Samantha Masunaga,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Jan. 2026
-
The United States typically experiences the lagging edge of Latin American displacement waves.—
Newsweek Staff,
MSNBC Newsweek,
14 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
While experts say the funds are beginning to make a difference, the sluggish pace of spending in some communities, from the wine country of Grand Traverse County to mid-Michigan's Eaton County, has frustrated some state leaders.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
1 Apr. 2026
-
Oklahoma City, which defeated the New York Knicks on Sunday night, looked sluggish against the Eastern Conference-leading Pistons, who were missing four of their five regular starters.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
31 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Laggard.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/laggard. Accessed 5 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
