Meaning & use
plodding
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivebefore a noun
Walking or moving slowly and heavily, as if tired.
Grammar: Used before a noun: a plodding horse.
The plodding mule carried the packs up the hill.
We heard his plodding steps on the stairs.
A plodding walker, he reached the summit last.
adjectivebefore a noundisapprovingfigurative
Working or progressing steadily but slowly and without much imagination or excitement.
Grammar: Often critical: a plodding style.
The film's plodding plot made me look at my watch.
He was a plodding worker, reliable but never inspired.
The meeting kept up a plodding pace for hours.
Word forms
| comparative | more plodding |
|---|---|
| superlative | most plodding |
Common combinations
- plodding pace
- The story moves at a plodding pace.
- plodding steps
- Her plodding steps echoed in the corridor.
- plodding prose
- The novel suffers from plodding prose.
- plodding progress
- Progress on the road was plodding.
- plodding journey
- It was a long, plodding journey home.
Synonyms and how they differ
- slow
- Slow just describes speed, while plodding adds a sense of heaviness or dullness.
- laborious
- Laborious stresses hard effort, whereas plodding stresses dull steady slowness.
- dull
- Dull means boring but says nothing about pace, while plodding implies both slow and uninspired.
- ponderous
- Ponderous suggests heavy, awkward slowness and can sound more formal.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: plodding or plotting?
plodding vs plotting
Plotting means planning secretly or drawing points on a graph. Plodding means moving slowly.
Practice
Which phrase describes a film that moves slowly and dully?
Choose one answer.
Plodding describes slow, uninspired movement. Gripping, swift and witty suggest the opposite.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “plodding”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.