Definition

Noun: 1. The quality or fact of being late: The state of occurring or arriving after the expected, scheduled, or proper time. 2. The habit of being late: A tendency or pattern of not adhering to expected or appointed times.

Usage

Tardiness is used to describe the condition or characteristic of being late. It is most commonly applied to arrivals, especially in formal contexts like work, school, or appointments. It is often discussed as a behavioral issue or a measure of reliability.

Examples

• Her frequent tardiness to morning meetings became a problem for the team.
• The school has a strict policy regarding student tardiness.
• He apologized for his tardiness, explaining that the traffic was unusually heavy.
• Chronic tardiness can damage your professional reputation.

Advanced Usage

• "To address/correct tardiness": To take action to fix or improve a pattern of being late.
  • The manager implemented a new system to address employee tardiness.
• "A pattern/history of tardiness": A repeated record of being late.
  • His application was weakened by a history of tardiness at his previous job.

Variants and Related Words

• Tardy (adj): Describing someone or something that is late.
  • The tardy student missed the first ten minutes of the lecture.
• Tardily (adv): In a late or slow manner. (This form is less common in everyday speech.)
  • He arrived tardily for his own party.

Synonyms

• Lateness: The most direct synonym, focusing on the state of being late.
• Delay: Often refers to the event that causes lateness rather than the personal habit.
• Unpunctuality: The opposite of punctuality; not being on time.

Antonyms

• Punctuality: The quality of being on time.
• Promptness: The characteristic of acting or arriving without delay.

Related Phrases

• "Excuse for one's tardiness": A reason given for being late.
  • She had a valid excuse for her tardiness.
• "Tardiness record": A documented history of late arrivals.
  • His tardiness record was noted in his performance review.

Noun

1. the quality or habit of not adhering to a correct or usual or expected time