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Tardy vs Retarded - What's the difference?

tardy | retarded |

As adjectives the difference between tardy and retarded

is that tardy is late; overdue or delayed while retarded is delayed; delayed in development, hindered; impeded.

As verbs the difference between tardy and retarded

is that tardy is (obsolete|transitive) to make tardy while retarded is (retard).

As a noun tardy

is (us) a piece of paper given to students who are late to class.

tardy

English

Adjective

(er)
  • Late; overdue or delayed.
    • He yawned, then raised a tardy hand over his mouth.
  • ineffectual; slow-witted, slow to act, or dullard.
    • His tardy performance bordered on incompetence.
  • Moving with a slow pace or motion; not swift.
  • * Sandys
    • Check the tardy flight of time.
  • * Prior
    • tardy to vengeance, and with mercy brave
  • (obsolete) Unwary; unready.
    • (Hudibras)
  • (obsolete) Criminal; guilty.
    • (Collier)

    Synonyms

    * (l), (l)

    Usage notes

    * The term suggests habitual lateness. * Somewhat dated in the United Kingdom.

    Noun

    (tardies)
  • (US) A piece of paper given to students who are late to class.
    • The teacher gave her a tardy because she did not come into the classroom until after the bell.

    See also

    * tardy slip

    Verb

  • (obsolete) To make tardy.
    • (Shakespeare)

    retarded

    English

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Delayed; delayed in development, hindered; impeded.
  • * 2004 , Duncan Mackay, The Observer , 8 Aug 2004:
    • HGH, which was originally developed to assist children with retarded growth, is believed to be especially popular with sprinters.
  • (chiefly, North America) Underdeveloped (of a person's intelligence, abilities etc.).
  • * 2000 , Kate Connolly, The Guardian , 19 Apr 2000:
    • The European Roma Rights Centre in Budapest, which is representing the children - from the north-eastern city of Ostrava - said that the education ministry and local authorities had for decades "perpetuated a system which routinely brands disproportionate numbers of Gypsies as mentally retarded ".
  • (colloquial, derogatory) Stupid, dumb.
  • * 1988 , Raymond E Feist, Faerie Tale :
    • Looking at Jack, Gabbie said, "What?" "That's the Troll Bridge." She groaned at the pun. "That's retarded ."
  • (physics) Designating a parameter of an electromagnetic field which is adjusted to account for the finite speed of radiation.

    • Verb

    (head)
  • (retard)