as in slow
moving or proceeding at less than the normal, desirable, or required speed
the lagging pace of work on the project was worrisome
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in fading
to lose bodily strength or vigor
during the fourth quarter the whole team seemed to lag
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in delaying
to move or act slowly
the tired puppy was lagging behind the rest of the pack
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of lagging
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
So while America is most likely still a highly desirable place for all kinds of investors, from the average person putting money into a 401(k) to a professional trader, the lagging performance this year is more than your typical year.
—
Christian Orozco,
NBC news,
12 Nov. 2025
Layer on infrastructure costs, amortization, new storage mandates, refinery retrofits for changing crude blends and the lagging effects of the LCFS credit.
—
Michael Mische,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
19 Sep. 2025
Metrics That Predict, Not Report The lagging nature of HR’s metrics compounds the problem.
—
Vibhas Ratanjee,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
Reporting is inconsistent and lagging.
—
Miami Herald,
1 July 2025
Hugh Leask,
CNBC,
3 July 2026
Grok is generally seen to be lagging behind the other top models.
—
Charlie Warzel,
The Atlantic,
3 July 2026
The road was so packed that his feet disappeared along the pavement, obstructed from view by those leading and those lagging behind.
—
Sam McDowell 1,
Kansas City Star,
1 July 2026
With inflation elevated, borrowing costs expensive and pay for workers lagging, now may be the time to shore up your financial protections while looking for ways to grow the interest on your savings.
—
Matt Richardson,
CBS News,
1 July 2026
The company’s flagship Grok models have faced persistent criticism for lagging behind competitors from Anthropic and OpenAI in benchmark performance.
—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
24 June 2026
The strategic value is that ideation metrics are leading indicators, not lagging ones.
—
Nir Bashan,
Forbes.com,
23 June 2026
Despite America’s wealth and relative stability, numerous metrics suggest a country in distress, lagging behind other affluent nations in everything from life expectancy to results on surveys of global happiness and well-being.
—
Hua Hsu,
New Yorker,
22 June 2026
When Davis took the reins at the company, Columbia was lagging behind in the ‘60s rock revolution.
—
Chris Morris,
Variety,
22 June 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
So while America is most likely still a highly desirable place for all kinds of investors, from the average person putting money into a 401(k) to a professional trader, the lagging performance this year is more than your typical year.
—
Christian Orozco,
NBC news,
12 Nov. 2025
Layer on infrastructure costs, amortization, new storage mandates, refinery retrofits for changing crude blends and the lagging effects of the LCFS credit.
—
Michael Mische,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
19 Sep. 2025
Metrics That Predict, Not Report The lagging nature of HR’s metrics compounds the problem.
—
Vibhas Ratanjee,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
Reporting is inconsistent and lagging.
—
Miami Herald,
1 July 2025
Verb
But top bankers and regulators also recognize that Europe is lagging in AI investment and the development of frontier companies driving breakthroughs.
—
Hugh Leask,
CNBC,
3 July 2026
Grok is generally seen to be lagging behind the other top models.
—
Charlie Warzel,
The Atlantic,
3 July 2026
The road was so packed that his feet disappeared along the pavement, obstructed from view by those leading and those lagging behind.
—
Sam McDowell 1,
Kansas City Star,
1 July 2026
With inflation elevated, borrowing costs expensive and pay for workers lagging, now may be the time to shore up your financial protections while looking for ways to grow the interest on your savings.
—
Matt Richardson,
CBS News,
1 July 2026
The company’s flagship Grok models have faced persistent criticism for lagging behind competitors from Anthropic and OpenAI in benchmark performance.
—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
24 June 2026
The strategic value is that ideation metrics are leading indicators, not lagging ones.
—
Nir Bashan,
Forbes.com,
23 June 2026
Despite America’s wealth and relative stability, numerous metrics suggest a country in distress, lagging behind other affluent nations in everything from life expectancy to results on surveys of global happiness and well-being.
—
Hua Hsu,
New Yorker,
22 June 2026
When Davis took the reins at the company, Columbia was lagging behind in the ‘60s rock revolution.
—
Chris Morris,
Variety,
22 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lagging
Adjective
-
There was no repeat of the slow start that cost him a spot last season.
-
The house old-fashioned can be made with bourbon or gin and is a much slower sip.
Verb
-
More than a week after the disaster, search-and-rescue operations remain active, though hopes of finding additional survivors are rapidly fading.
-
Thousands remain missing more than a week after the twin earthquakes struck Venezuela and hope for finding survivors is fading into and effort to recover remains.
Verb
-
While delaying benefits is typically optimal, a hypothetical 22% cut by 2033 significantly shifts optimal claiming ages for many single individuals, potentially encouraging earlier filing, but often not for married couples.
-
Some workers were granted exemptions, and a handful of departments were delaying implementation of the governor’s mandate.
Adjective
-
Mondays have $5 martinis, mules and margaritas, Fridays and Saturdays are for boogying upstairs and the patio at Metro is an any-day spot for a leisurely drink or three.
-
That was when the lensman captured the social set at their leisurely and often strikingly dressed best.
Verb
-
Goldman Sachs predicts a sustained dollar weakening in 2026, driven by fiscal concerns and shifting global asset demand, marking a structural shift rather than a cyclical dip.
-
Ukrainian officials describe the strikes as a campaign to pressure Moscow to end the war by undermining its military logistics and supply lines and weakening its ability to mount assaults along the front.
Verb
-
This season, our editors are savoring the activities that take us back to some of our favorite childhood days—jumping off docks, sliding down twisty pool slides, and lingering outside long into the evening.
-
Any strange or lingering foot symptoms, though, could be a sign of a bigger health condition.
Adjective
-
Frustrated by a laggard job market, some young people have started to consider entering the trades.
-
But one laggard turkey, lazier than the others, took flight just ten paces from Brillat-Savarin.
Verb
-
An InStyle writer recommends the RoC Derm Correxion Retinol Firming Serum Stick for her grandma’s sagging turkey neck.
-
Meanwhile, sagging electrical lines threatened to bring some rail services to a standstill.
Cite this Entry
“Lagging.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lagging. Accessed 6 Jul. 2026.
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