2. Not happening in a short time; gradual; late.
These changes in the heavens, though slow, produced
Like change on sea and land, sidereal blast.
--Milton.
3. Not ready; not prompt or quick; dilatory; sluggish; as,
slow of speech, and slow of tongue.
Fixed on defense, the Trojans are not slow To guard
their shore from an expected foe. --Dryden.
4. Not hasty; not precipitate; acting with deliberation;
tardy; inactive.
He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding.
--Prov. xiv.
29.
5. Behind in time; indicating a time earlier than the true
time; as, the clock or watch is slow.
6. Not advancing or improving rapidly; as, the slow growth of
arts and sciences.
7. Heavy in wit; not alert, prompt, or spirited; wearisome;
dull. [Colloq.] --Dickens. Thackeray.
Note: Slow is often used in the formation of compounds for
the most part self-explaining; as, slow-gaited,
slow-paced, slow-sighted, slow-winged, and the like.
{Slow coach}, a slow person. See def.7, above. [Colloq.]
{Slow lemur}, or {Slow loris} (Zo["o]l.), an East Indian
nocturnal lemurine animal ({Nycticebus tardigradus}) about
the size of a small cat; -- so called from its slow and
deliberate movements. It has very large round eyes and is
without a tail. Called also {bashful Billy}.
{Slow match}. See under {Match}.
Syn: Dilatory; late; lingering; tardy; sluggish; dull;
inactive.
Usage: {Slow}, {Tardy}, {Dilatory}. Slow is the wider term,
denoting either a want of rapid motion or inertness of
intellect. Dilatory signifies a proneness to defer, a
habit of delaying the performance of what we know must
be done. Tardy denotes the habit of being behind hand;
as, tardy in making up one's acounts.