Definition of Sloth

1. Noun. A disinclination to work or exert yourself.

Exact synonyms: Slothfulness
Generic synonyms: Disinclination, Hesitancy, Hesitation, Indisposition, Reluctance
Derivative terms: Slothful

2. Noun. Any of several slow-moving arboreal mammals of South America and Central America; they hang from branches back downward and feed on leaves and fruits.

3. Noun. Apathy and inactivity in the practice of virtue (personified as one of the deadly sins).
Exact synonyms: Acedia, Laziness
Generic synonyms: Deadly Sin, Mortal Sin
Derivative terms: Lazy

Definition of Sloth

1. n. Slowness; tardiness.

2. v. i. To be idle.

Definition of Sloth

1. Noun. Laziness; slowness in the mindset. ¹

2. Noun. A herbivorous, arboreal South American mammal of the families ''Megalonychidae'' and ''Bradypodidae'', noted for its slowness and inactivity. ¹

3. Noun. (rare) A collective term for a group of bears. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Sloth

1. a slow-moving arboreal mammal [n -S]

Medical Definition of Sloth

1. 1. Slowness; tardiness. "These cardinals trifle with me; I abhor This dilatory sloth and tricks of Rome." (Shak) 2. Disinclination to action or labour; sluggishness; laziness; idleness. "[They] change their course to pleasure, ease, and sloth." (Milton) "Sloth, like rust, consumes faster than labour wears." (Franklin) 3. Any one of several species of arboreal edentates constituting the family Bradypodidae, and the suborder Tardigrada. They have long exserted limbs and long prehensile claws. Both jaws are furnished with teeth, and the ears and tail are rudimentary. They inhabit South and Central America and Mexico. The three-toed sloths belong to the genera Bradypus and Arctopithecus, of which several species have been described. They have three toes on each foot. The best-known species are collared sloth (Bradypus tridactylus), and the ai (Arctopitheus ai). The two-toed sloths, consisting the genus Cholopus, have two toes on each fore foot and three on each hind foot. The best-known is the unau (Cholopus didactylus) of South America. See Unau. Another species (C. Hoffmanni) inhabits Central America. Various large extinct terrestrial edentates, such as Megatherium and Mylodon, are often called sloths. Australian, or Native sloth, a loris. Origin: OE. Slouthe, sleuthe, AS. Slw, fr. Slaw slow. See Slow. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Sloth

sloshily
sloshiness
sloshing
sloshingly
sloshings
sloshy
slot-car
slot-hound
slot-loading disc drive
slot in
slot machine
slot machines
slotback
slotbacks
sloth (current term)
sloth bear
sloth bears
slothed
slothful
slothfull
slothfully
slothfulness
slothfulnesses
slothhound
slothing
slothlike
sloths
slotless
slotlike

Literary usage of Sloth

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. A History of the Earth and Animated Nature by Oliver Goldsmith (1856)
"Or the sloth there are two different kinds, distinguished from each other by their claws ; the one, which in its native country is called the unau, ..."

2. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences by New York Academy of Sciences (1917)
"SYSTEMATIC TREATMENT NEW GENUS OF GROUND sloth The type of ... and consequently it is not so surprising to discover remains of a ground sloth on Porto Rico. ..."

3. The London Magazine by John Scott, John Taylor (1826)
"This, then, is the proper place to go in quest of the sloth. ... Were the floor of glass, or of a polished surface, the sloth would actually be quite ..."

4. A History of the Earth, and Animated Nature by Oliver Goldsmith (1823)
"OF THE sloth. OF the sloth there are two different kinds, ... They are both, therefore, described under the common appellation of the sloth, ..."

5. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington by Entomological Society of Washington (1913)
"Some time ago I described a pyralid from the fur of the living sloth as ... At the time I overlooked the description of a sloth moth by Spuler as ..."

6. The Chinese Repository edited by Elijah Coleman Bridgman, Samuel Wells Willaims (1840)
"sloth — an odd misnomer for our indefatigable compiler — by the publication of ... Liberal as was the bounty enjoyed by sloth, we have no doubt his generous ..."

7. Wanderings in South America, the North-west of the United States, and the by Charles Waterton (1879)
"History of the sloth — an inhabitant of the trees — structure of the limbs.— A domesticated sloth — a life of suspense — structure of the hair — mark on the ..."

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