SLOTHFUL Synonyms: 43 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: How is the word 'slothful' distinct from other similar adjectives?

The words indolent and lazy are common synonyms of slothful . While all three words mean "not easily aroused to activity," slothful implies a temperamental inability to act promptly or speedily when action or speed is called for. // fired for being slothful about filling orders

Q: When is 'indolent' a more appropriate choice than 'slothful'?

The synonyms indolent and slothful are sometimes interchangeable, but indolent suggests a love of ease and a dislike of movement or activity. // the heat made us indolent

Q: Where would 'lazy' be a reasonable alternative to 'slothful'?

The meanings of lazy and slothful largely overlap; however, lazy suggests a disinclination to work or to take trouble. // take-out foods for lazy cooks

slothful

adjective

ˈslȯth-fəl

Definition of slothful next

as in lazy

not easily aroused to action or work his overly lax managerial style has resulted in a department that is slothful and unproductive

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How is the word slothful distinct from other similar adjectives?

The words indolent and lazy are common synonyms of slothful. While all three words mean "not easily aroused to activity," slothful implies a temperamental inability to act promptly or speedily when action or speed is called for.

fired for being slothful about filling orders

When is indolent a more appropriate choice than slothful?

The synonyms indolent and slothful are sometimes interchangeable, but indolent suggests a love of ease and a dislike of movement or activity.

the heat made us indolent

Where would lazy be a reasonable alternative to slothful?

The meanings of lazy and slothful largely overlap; however, lazy suggests a disinclination to work or to take trouble.

take-out foods for lazy cooks

Examples Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of slothful At our test track, the buzzy little SUV needed a slothful 9.2 seconds to hit 60 mph. —

Drew Dorian, Car and Driver, 23 Dec. 2022 The pilfered offspring return with the raiders to their nests, then hatch and grow up to become live-in slaves, tasked with the feeding and care of their slothful masters and their masters’ brood. —

Brendan Borrell, Discover Magazine, 10 Apr. 2013 Procrastination can be slothful or prudent, a vice or a virtue, depending on your habits and the tasks at hand. —

Arthur C. Brooks, The Atlantic, 16 Dec. 2021 Selfish, feckless, self-deluded, weak-willed yet childishly willful, manipulative, slothful, and mendacious: How can such a despicable character also be such a likable one? —

Sigrid Nunez, Harper's Magazine, 28 Sep. 2021 The proud stagger beneath a sack of boulders, and the slothful atone with manic activity. —

Judith Thurman, The New Yorker, 13 Sep. 2021 After releasing 12 albums in 13 months, Twin Cities guitarist Cory Wong will end his momentarily slothful ways and drop just his second album this year. —

Jon Bream, Star Tribune, 11 May 2021 At the same time, others construed even the most slothful forms of idleness as a bold resistance to modernity’s greatest ills. —

Ingrid Nelson, The Conversation, 19 Mar. 2021 Another echoing aircraft hangar is home to a set representing a perfect Depression-era kitchen, where Rebel Wilson’s droll, slothful Jennyanydots will lounge her days away. —

Hamish Bowles, Vogue, 19 Dec. 2019