different between drowsy vs sluggish

English

Etymology

From drowse +? -y, despite the fact that drowsy (1520) is recorded before drowse (1570). Compare Old English dr?sian (“to droop, drowse, become languid”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?d?a?zi/
• Rhymes: -a?zi

Adjective

drowsy (comparative drowsier, superlative drowsiest)

1. Inclined to drowse; heavy with sleepiness

   I was feeling drowsy and so decided to make a cup of coffee to try to wake myself up.

   Synonyms: lethargic, dozy

2. Causing someone to fall sleep or feel sleepy; lulling; soporific.

   It was a warm, drowsy summer afternoon.

3. Boring.
   • 1928, Historical Outlook

     The narrative throughout holds the reader; it Is not a drowsy book.

4. Dull; stupid. (Can we add an example for this sense?)

Derived terms

• drowsiness

Translations

English

Etymology

slug +? -ish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?sl????/

Adjective

sluggish (comparative sluggisher or more sluggish, superlative sluggishest or most sluggish)

1. Habitually idle and lazy; slothful; dull; inactive

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:lazy

   • c. 1874, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Ovid in Exile

     And the sluggish land slumbers in utter neglect.
2. Slow; having little motion.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:slow

   Antonym: nimble

   • 1913, Paul Laurence Dunbar, At Sunset Time

     We float upon a sluggish stream,

     We ride no rapids mad,

     While life is all a tempered dream

     And every joy half sad.

3. Having no power to move oneself or itself; inert.
   • 1695, John Woodward, An Essay toward a Natural History of the Earth and Terrestrial Bodies

     Matter, being impotent, sluggish, and inactive, hath no power to stir or move itself.

4. Characteristic of a sluggard; dull; stupid; tame; simple.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:stupid

5. Exhibiting economic decline, inactivity, slow or subnormal growth.

Derived terms

Translations