noun ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   A person who is lazy, stupid, or idle by habit.
2. 2
   an idle slothful person wordnet
3. 3
   A person slow to begin necessary work, a slothful person.
4. 4
   A fearful or cowardly person, a poltroon.

Synonyms

All synonyms

bumchickenclock watchercowardcravendallier

Antonyms

All antonyms

doer

Etymology

From Middle English slogarde, probably ultimately of Old Norse origin. Equivalent to slug + -ard (“pejorative agent suffix”).

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.