Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Occurring, arriving, acting, or done after the scheduled, expected, or usual time; late.
- adjective Moving or progressing slowly; sluggish.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To delay; retard; hinder.
- Moving with a slow pace or motion; slow; sluggish.
- Late; dilatory; behindhand.
- Characterized by or proceeding from reluctance; unwilling to move or act; hanging back.
- Synonyms Dilatory, etc. (see
slow ), slack, procrastinating.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- transitive verb obsolete To make tardy.
- adjective Moving with a slow pace or motion; slow; not swift.
- adjective Not being inseason; late; dilatory; -- opposed to
prompt . - adjective obsolete Unwary; unready.
- adjective obsolete Criminal; guilty.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective
Late ;overdue ordelayed . - adjective
ineffectual ; slow witted, slow to act, ordullard - noun US A piece of paper given to students who are late to class.
- verb obsolete, transitive To make tardy.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective after the expected or usual time; delayed
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Mr. Talbot's desire to be away was a surprise to him, for he was in difficulties how, even in that enormous hall, to dispose of all who claimed by right or by favour to witness what he called the tardy fulfilment of judgment.
Unknown to History: a story of the captivity of Mary of Scotland Charlotte Mary Yonge 1862
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In lots of cultures around the world, being tardy is NOT a sign of disrespect at all.
Dealing With The Tardiness Of Others | Lifehacker Australia 2009
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He spread them violently and with little preamble thrust himself into the closest of all connections, even hurting her a little, though she never could be called tardy in response, and she approved of this new brutality, at the outset anyway, as an appropriate sequel to her brush with dying.
The Houseguest Thomas Berger 2008
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The curses of the camel-drivers beating the animals; the cries of the hawkers who sold amulets against leprosy and the evil eye; the psalmody of the monks reciting verses of the Bible; the shrieking of the women who were prophesying; the shouting of the beggars singing old songs of the harem; the bleating of sheep; the braying of asses; the sailors calling tardy passengers; all these confused noises caused a deafening uproar, over which dominated the strident voices of the little naked negro boys, running about everywhere selling fresh dates.
Thais Anatole France 1884
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We were kind of tardy with the hotel reservation stuff, and the governor's suites are all booked.
Day in the Life of an Idiot lyda222 2010
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A GAO report recently called the Administration "tardy" even in securing radioactive materials in the United States.
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The province's bursary payments had been "tardy" in the past, but this was the first year the university had not been paid, he said.
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She said government alone was not responsible for combating the disease and she described the private sector's response as "tardy".
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was reportedly late, extremely tardy, which is not exactly an innovation in the annals of rudeness.
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The Medium: There were three -- a kind of tardy assent.
Preliminary Report of the Commission Appointed by the University of Pennsylvania to Investigate Modern Spiritualism In Accordance with the Request of the Late Henry Seybert The Seybert Commission
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