tardy

tardy: tardy adj Tardy, late, behindhand, overdue can all designate persons or things that do not arrive or take place at the time set, the time due, or the expected and usual time.

Tardy implies a lack of promptness or punctuality or a coming or happening or doing after the proper or appointed moment; it need not imply slowness in movement but may suggest rather a being delayed in starting or beginning

{
ten years is a long time for a courtship, and she summons courage to spur her tardy swain— Seamus Kelly
}

{
the tardier indicators of business activity have finally begun to turn down— Fortune
}

Late implies an opposition to early and usually connotes a failure to come or take place at the time due because of procrastination, slowness of movement or growth, or the interference of obstacles; it is applied especially to persons or to things that are governed by a schedule

{
be late for work
}

{
you are too late to get your dinner
}

{
the train is very late today
}

{
spring is very late this year
}

Behindhand usually applies either directly or indirectly to persons who are in arrears (as in the payment of debts or in the fulfillment of obligations) or who are slower than normal (as in mental progress, in the acceptance of fashions, or in taking action)

{
behindhand in the payment of his rent
}

{
a whole class who were behindhand with their lessons— Hawthorne
}

{
Spain, usually so behindhand in matters of art, displayed expressionists . . . even nonobjectivists— Gomez Sicre
}

Overdue is applied to things that are affected by a person's being, or less often to a person that is, markedly late or behindhand; thus, a person is behindhand in the payment of his rent, but the rent is overdue when such a situation occurs; a ship is overdue when it is seriously or conspicuously behind its scheduled time of arrival

{
her gallant was now more than an hour overdue— Barclay
}

{
a peremptory demand ... for the settlement of an account long overdue— Norris
}

Overdue also may refer to something that might logically or suitably have appeared or occurred a long time before

{
colonies that are overdue for liberation— Landman
}

{
the valuable work . . . received long overdue recognition— Kuney
}

Analogous words: dilatory, laggard, *slow: delayed, detained, retarded (see DELAY)

Antonyms: prompt

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Synonyms:

Slow, snail-like, sluggish, slowpaced / Dilatory, slack, late, behindhand, backward, slow

Look at other dictionaries:

Tardy — Tar dy, a. [Compar. {Tardier}; superl. {Tardiest}.] [F. tardif, fr. (assumed) LL. tardivus, fr. L. tardus slow.] 1. Moving with a slow pace or motion; slow; not swift. [1913 Webster] And check the tardy flight of time. Sandys. [1913 Webster]… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Tardy — is a surname, and may refer to: *John Tardy *Donald Tardyee also*Tardy Gate, a village in Lancashire … Wikipedia
Tardy — ist der Familienname der folgenden Personen: Donald Tardy, US amerikanischer Schlagzeuger Gregory „Greg“ Tardy (* 3. Februar 1966), US amerikanischer Jazz Musiker John Tardy, US amerikanischer Sänger Diese Seite ist eine Be … Deutsch Wikipedia
Tardy — Tar dy, v. t. To make tardy. [Obs.] Shak. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
tardy — index back (in arrears), dilatory, overdue, remiss Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 … Law dictionary
Tardy — Du latin populaire tardivus (= lent, tardif). Pourrait désigner un personnage lent, ou encore un enfant dont la naissance a été tardive, à moins qu il ne s agisse d un prénom médiéval. Le nom est fréquent dans la région Rhône Alpes. Variante :… … Noms de famille
tardy — late 14c. (implied in tardity), from O.Fr. tardif (12c.), from V.L. *tardivus, from L. tardus slow, sluggish, dull, stupid, of unknown origin … Etymology dictionary
tardy — [adj] late backward, behindhand, belated, dawdling, delayed, delinquent, detained, dilatory, held up, hung up*, in a bind, jammed, laggard, loitering, not arrived, not done, overdue, procrastinating, retarded, slack, slow, sluggish, strapped for… … New thesaurus
tardy — ► ADJECTIVE (tardier, tardiest) 1) delaying or delayed beyond the right or expected time; late. 2) slow in action or response. DERIVATIVES tardily adverb tardiness noun. ORIGIN Latin tardus slow … English terms dictionary
tardy — [tär′dē] adj. tardier, tardiest [LME tardyve < OFr tardif < VL * tardivus < L tardus, slow, prob. < IE base * ter , delicate, weak > Gr terēn, tender] 1. slow in moving, acting, etc. 2. behind time; late, delayed, or dilatory… … English World dictionary

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