Tardiness

noun

noun ·3 syllables ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The state or quality of being tardy. uncountable

    "Some ten years ago, an evening excursion train from the Walsall area to Manchester, when travelling well over the heavily-graded Walsall-Rugeley line, was brought to a stand at a level crossing at Hednesford by the tardiness of a gatekeeper, who was pottering about in his garden instead of attending to his duties."

  2. 2
    the quality or habit of not adhering to a correct or usual or expected time wordnet
  3. 3
    The result or product of being tardy. countable

Synonyms

All synonyms
latenesslatenessanachronismantedatinganticipationbehindhandness

Example

More examples

"The professor scolded me for my tardiness, yet he said nary a word when his favorite student showed up ten minutes after I arrived."

Etymology

From tardy + -ness.

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