different between sluggish vs senseless

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 sense +? -less. Compare Saterland Frisian sinloos (“senseless, foolish”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?s?nsl?s/
• Hyphenation: sense?less

Adjective

senseless (comparative more senseless, superlative most senseless)

1. Without feeling or consciousness; deprived of sensation.

   The blow to his head rendered him senseless, he didn't awaken until he was in the ambulance.

   Synonyms: unconscious, insensible

2. Lacking meaning or purpose; without common sense.

   What a senseless waste of money.

   Synonyms: pointless, meaningless

3. Without a discernible meaning or purpose, especially of a violent or evil act.

   The school shooting was a senseless act of violence.

4. Without consideration, awareness or sound judgement

   He took senseless risks, not even aware of the danger he was in.

   Synonyms: unreasonable, unwise, stupid

Related terms

• sense
• senseful
• senselessly
• senselessness

Translations

See also

• (deprived of sensation): ageusia, analgesia, anosmia, blind, deaf, hypoesthesia, numbness, paralysis

References

• senseless in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• senseless in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.