Sluggish Meaning
/ˈslʌɡɪʃ/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
adjHabitually idle and lazy; slothful; dull; inactive
adjSlow; having little motion.
Sentence Examples
I've been sluggish recently.
Mr. Smith ran his sluggish horse along the country roads.
CEFR Practice Quiz
After eating a heavy meal, the students felt ____ and had trouble staying awake during the lecture.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The old computer felt very ____ today, taking several minutes just to open a simple document.
Word Origin & History
Etymology tree English slug Proto-Indo-European *-iskos Proto-Germanic *-iskaz Proto-West Germanic *-isk Old English -isċ Middle English -ish English -ish English sluggish From slug + -ish.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"[I]f he leaves the School poſſeſs'd of a ſluggiſh indolent Diſpoſition, and of Learning rather forc'd upon him than choſen, it is probable he will forget what he brought thence; but if he be active, emulous and aſpiring, he will certainly find Time for Reading and Thinking; for tho' it be a homely, it is a true Saying, that where there is a Will, there is a Way."
— 1724, Pharmacopolæ Justificati: Or, Apothecaries Vindicated from the Imputation of Ignorance. […], London: […] J. Roberts, […], →OCLC, page 6:
"And the sluggish land slumbers in utter neglect."
— c. 1874, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Ovid in Exile:
"He helps us to understand the insignificant points which mark the rapid undercurrents of the seemingly sluggish soul of Khalid."
— 1910 January 12, Ameen Rihani, “On the Wharf of Enchantment”, in The Book of Khalid, New York, N.Y.: Dodd, Mead and Company, published October 1911, →OCLC, book the first (In the Exchange), page 34:
"Vp thou tame River, vvake; / And from the liquid limbes this ſlumber ſhake: / Thou drovvn'st thy ſelfe in inofficious ſleepe; / And theſe thy ſluggiſh vvaters ſeeme to creepe, / Rather than flovv."
— 1604 March 25 (first performance; Gregorian calendar), B[en] Jon[son], “The Pegme at Fen-church”, in B. Jon: His Part of King James His Royall and Magnificent Entertainement through His Honorable Cittie of London, Thurseday the 15. of March. 1603. […], London: […] V[alentine] S[immes] [and George Eld] for Edward Blount, published 1604, →OCLC, signature B3, verso:
"We float upon a sluggish stream, / We ride no rapids mad, / While life is all a tempered dream / And every joy half sad."
— 1913, Paul Laurence Dunbar, At Sunset Time:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
After eating a heavy meal, the students felt ____ and had trouble staying awake during the lecture.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The old computer felt very ____ today, taking several minutes just to open a simple document.