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

Per Charania, Williamson was tardy in arriving late to the team plane prior to a Thursday flight to Philadelphia. —Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 10 Jan. 2025

An 85-year-old couple in Spain was left by the Norwegian Viva after a rainstorm made their excursion tardy. —Bridget Read, Curbed, 18 Dec. 2024

Only three teams averaged fewer substitutions before the 75th minute than Hayes’ 2.0 per game, while her average time of making a change (74.1 minutes into a game) was tardier than the tournament average of 68.6. —Jeff Rueter, The Athletic, 11 Aug. 2024

Learn more: Best credit cards of 2023 A loophole allowed banks to charge excessive late fees, regulators say Under the CARD Act, banks were supposed to charge late fees only to recover their costs in collecting the tardy payments. —Daniel De Visé, USA TODAY, 5 Mar. 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