as in slowly
at a pace that is less than usual, desirable, or expected
the car responds sluggishly until it warms up
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Recent Examples of sluggishly
Verstappen qualified second but stalled at the start, falling to last place as his car moved sluggishly.
—
Sahil Kapur, NBC news, 7 June 2026
The Knicks came out of halftime sluggishly, falling behind by 13 points in the third quarter.
—Alejandro Avila, FOXNews.com, 4 June 2026
Voters, meanwhile, continued to respond somewhat sluggishly to the race, with early ballot returns slow particularly among Democrats, The Sacramento Bee reported Monday.
—Andrew Graham
june 1, Sacbee.com, 1 June 2026
Ratcliffe attended that loss to Leeds at Old Trafford, a display which started sluggishly and drew criticism for Carrick over his substitutions.
—Laurie Whitwell, New York Times, 24 May 2026
Trump has repeatedly declared victory in the war with Iran as peace talks and nuclear negotiations move sluggishly, claiming the country’s military assets have been destroyed.
—Antonio Pequeño Iv, Forbes.com, 22 May 2026
Polaritons move relatively sluggishly—around 100 times slower than the speed of light.
—Adam Kovac, Scientific American, 30 Apr. 2026
Lincoln-Way East started sluggishly, to say the least, and trailed 7-4 after one quarter before Brown entered the game and scored seven points in the second quarter.
—Steve Millar, Chicago Tribune, 11 Feb. 2026
Cold weather slows the chemical reactions in these batteries, with the lithium ions moving more sluggishly through the electrolyte liquid.
—Miriam Fauzia, Dallas Morning News, 26 Jan. 2026
Sahil Kapur, NBC news, 7 June 2026
The Knicks came out of halftime sluggishly, falling behind by 13 points in the third quarter.
—Alejandro Avila, FOXNews.com, 4 June 2026
Voters, meanwhile, continued to respond somewhat sluggishly to the race, with early ballot returns slow particularly among Democrats, The Sacramento Bee reported Monday.
—Andrew Graham
june 1, Sacbee.com, 1 June 2026
Ratcliffe attended that loss to Leeds at Old Trafford, a display which started sluggishly and drew criticism for Carrick over his substitutions.
—Laurie Whitwell, New York Times, 24 May 2026
Trump has repeatedly declared victory in the war with Iran as peace talks and nuclear negotiations move sluggishly, claiming the country’s military assets have been destroyed.
—Antonio Pequeño Iv, Forbes.com, 22 May 2026
Polaritons move relatively sluggishly—around 100 times slower than the speed of light.
—Adam Kovac, Scientific American, 30 Apr. 2026
Lincoln-Way East started sluggishly, to say the least, and trailed 7-4 after one quarter before Brown entered the game and scored seven points in the second quarter.
—Steve Millar, Chicago Tribune, 11 Feb. 2026
Cold weather slows the chemical reactions in these batteries, with the lithium ions moving more sluggishly through the electrolyte liquid.
—Miriam Fauzia, Dallas Morning News, 26 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sluggishly
slowly
Adverb
-
Yes votes for Measure ER, which only needs 50% of the vote plus one for approval, have slowly gained day after day as more ballots — and in particular, ballots from Election Day or later — were counted.—
Steve Scauzillo,
Daily News,
10 June 2026
-
And then, slowly, something incredible unfolds.—
USA TODAY Network,
USA Today,
10 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Sluggishly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sluggishly. Accessed 16 Jun. 2026.
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