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

Now, even that default 10 year lookback is absent from the aforementioned composite edition, as well as the also tardy prior composite edition covering 2017-19. —Clyde Wayne Crews Jr., Forbes, 22 Oct. 2024

But his perpetually tardy filing led to error: nuances morphed into nuisances. —Andrew Cockburn, Harper's Magazine, 22 Aug. 2024

The one who is tardy to the party apologizes for the delay and promises to head over. —Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 19 Oct. 2024

Morrissey asserted that the tardy disclosure of the Teske rounds did not hamper Baldwin’s defense because his attorneys apparently knew about the ammunition before the trial. —Meg James, Los Angeles Times, 5 Sep. 2024

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

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