tardy

1 of 2

adjective

tar·​dy ˈtär-dē 

tardier; tardiest

1

: moving slowly : sluggish

the tardy pace at which she was obliged to walk

—Charles Dickens

2

: delayed beyond the expected or proper time : late

a tardy arrival

tardy

2 of 2

noun

plural tardies

: an instance of being tardy (as to a class)

Synonyms

Adjective

• crawling
• creeping
• dallying
• dawdling
• dilatory
• dillydallying
• dragging
• laggard
• lagging
• languid
• leisurely
• poking
• poky
• pokey
• slow
• sluggish
• snail-paced
• snaillike
• unhurried

Examples of tardy in a Sentence

Adjective

She was tardy to work.

They were tardy in filing the application.

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

If a filer forgoes an extension and files late, the person risks additional fees for the tardy submission. —Max Zahn, ABC News, 27 Jan. 2025

Ukraine’s tardy recruitment of convicts has produced a small fraction of fighters who had enlisted from Russian prisons. —Anatoly Kurmanaev, New York Times, 23 Jan. 2025

The district will excuse students who are tardy or absent due to traffic delays. —Lori Hawkins, Austin American-Statesman, 15 Jan. 2024

After being tardy answering the client’s bar grievance, Terry refunded the $3,000. —David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 6 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

alteration of earlier tardif, from Anglo-French, from Vulgar Latin *tardivus, from Latin tardus

First Known Use

Adjective

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1960, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for tardy

• hardie
• lardy
• pardy
• foolhardy
• sephardi

Kids Definition

tardy

adjective

tar·​dy

ˈtärd-ē

tardier; tardiest

1

: moving slowly : sluggish

2

: not on time : late

tardily

ˈtärd-ə-lē

adverb

tardiness

ˈtärd-ē-nəs

noun