different between sluggish vs irksome

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

Etymology

From Middle English irkesome, irksum, equivalent to irk +? -some, or perhaps continuing (in altered form)Old English weorcsum (“painful, hurtful”).

Pronunciation

• enPR: ûrk's?m, IPA^(key): /??ks?m/

Adjective

irksome (comparative more irksome, superlative most irksome)

1. Marked by irritation or annoyance; disagreeable; troublesome by reason of long continuance or repetition

   Synonyms: bothersome, annoying, irritating, wearisome, tedious

   He has this irksome habit of racing up to red lights, so he has to brake heavily.

Related terms

• irk
• irksomely
• irksomeness

Translations

Anagrams

• kirsome, smokier