different between sluggish vs ineffectual

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

English

Alternative forms

• ineffectuall (obsolete)

Etymology

in- +? effectual

Adjective

ineffectual (comparative more ineffectual, superlative most ineffectual)

1. Unable or insufficient to produce effect.

   Synonyms: futile; see also Thesaurus:futile

   • 1865, Henry David Thoreau, Cape Cod, Chapter II. "Stage-coach Views", page 16.

     This coach was an exceedingly narrow one, but as there was a slight spherical excess over two on a seat, the driver waited till nine passengers had got in, without taking the measure of any of them, and then shut the door after two or three ineffectual slams, as if the fault were all in the hinges or the latch,—while we timed our inspirations and expirations so as to assist him.

2. Worthless.
3. Weak, indecisive; lacking forcefulness.

Antonyms

• effectual

Related terms

• ineffectualness
• ineffectuality
• ineffectually

Translations