EN

Synonyms for sluggishness

  • noun

Most common

lethargy indolence torpor lassitude

All synonyms

Noun

lethargy, indolence, torpor, lassitude, laziness, languor, apathy, inactivity, phlegm, sloth, idleness, inertia, indifference, inertness, stupidity, flatness, acedia, slothfulness, listlessness, insensibility

Antonyms

nimbleness, alertness, energy

All antonyms of sluggishness →

Definitions

  1. n. 1

    The property of being sluggish, unable or unwilling to act quickly.

Forms

Plural
sluggishnesses → lethargies, indolences, torpors, lassitudes…

Choose the right word

Sluggishness or Apathy?

There are persons to whom a certain degree of apathy is natural, an innate sluggishness of the emotional nature.

J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)

Example sentences

  • lethargy Lethargy is a common symptom of that disease.
  • indolence Our problem is not ignorance, but indolence.
  • lassitude We can't abandon our principles out of moral lassitude.

Popularity over time

Word1850 → 2019Trend
sluggishnessfalling
lethargyrising
torporrising
indolencesteady
lassitudesteady

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

5 letters
sloth1
6 letters
apathy3, phlegm1, torpor2, acedia
7 letters
inertia3, languor
8 letters
laziness3, lethargy3, idleness3, flatness2
9 letters
stupidity4, indolence, lassitude, inertness3
10 letters
inactivity5
12 letters
indifference4, listlessness, slothfulness
13 letters
insensibility

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (apathy3 = 3 syllables).