LAGGARDS Synonyms: 28 Similar and Opposite Words

laggards

noun

plural of laggard

as in snails

someone who moves slowly or more slowly than others tried to spur on the laggards at the back of the line during the hike

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of laggards McKinsey has found that companies leading in customer experience achieve more than twice the revenue growth of customer experience laggards. — Jessica Wong, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2026 The energy sector and logistics companies that rely on fuel are likely to be the biggest laggards. — Alex Harring,sarah Min, CNBC, 21 July 2026 Others risk losing ground as AI gets trapped in pilots that never scale, widening the performance gap between early adopters and laggards – and creating a new digital divide inside every industry. — Nigel Vaz, Time, 20 July 2026 In a separate study on 1,000 companies across industries, including luxury, BCG estimated that about 57 percent of companies in the latter sector are AI laggards, with little implementation of the technology. — Martino Carrera, Footwear News, 7 July 2026 Dislocation from tariffs, onshoring, war, oil, and supply shocks present opportunities for dissident shareholders to show laggards the way. — Rohan Goswami, semafor.com, 25 June 2026 Two-thirds of the elite group also saw a measured business outcome within six months from when a pilot kicked off, versus 31% of the laggards. — John Kell, Fortune, 17 June 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for laggards

Noun

Scientists rescued 34 endangered humped tree snails from Guam by collecting them in empty peanut butter jars ahead of a powerful typhoon.

— Brittney Melton, NPR, 27 Aug. 2026
She and her hundreds of pet snails are visited by a young man named Edward Ridgeway (Alden Ehrenreich) who has been sent by her American publisher to convince her to sign a contract to write one more Ripley novel.

— Rebecca Ford, Vanity Fair, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of snails

Noun

Earnings season is winding down, but a few stragglers in the portfolio are still left to report this week.

— Zev Fima, CNBC, 16 Aug. 2026
On the streets below, vendors are hawking bootleg merchandise as stragglers from the festivities color the sidewalks with blue-and-orange jerseys and hats.

— Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 3 Aug. 2026

Definition of stragglers

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laggardly

laggards

lagged

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“Laggards.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/laggards. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of laggards

noun

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