Word for always being late

Most people know someone personally who is consistently late. That person may even be ourselves! With this being the case, it’s important that we’re aware of the correct terminology to describe these types of people. That is why this article will be highlighting appropriate nicknames for someone who is always late.

What Do You Call Someone Who Is Always Late?

There are plenty of terms that we can use to accurately describe someone who is always late. However, for the purposes of this article, we will be taking an in-depth look at the following ten terms:

• Tardy
• A Flake
• Procrastinator
• Tidsoptomist
• Irresponsible
• Unpunctual
• Behindhand
• Belated
• Dilatory
• Inconstant

The preferred version that we will be highlighting in this particular article is “tardy”. This is because the term “tardy” is the best and most accurate way to describe someone who is always late. We should think of a “tardy” person as someone who is delayed.

Tardy

When we say that someone is a “tardy” person, we are often meaning to express that they can never seem to arrive on an agreed-upon time, schedule or when they are expected to. A “tardy” person may also be late in their actions or responses.

According to Cambridge Dictionary, “tardy” is defined as slow or late in happening or arriving.

We can now look over the following examples that highlight the use of this term:

• You have been tardy for school every day for the past week – this needs to stop!
• Being consistently tardy for work is grounds for termination, so I suggest you start arriving on time or even early.
• Your tardy credit card bill payments will result in your credit score falling.

A Flake

Another great term that we can use to describe an individual who is always late is “a flake”. “A flake” is often considered to be the type of person who cannot be relied upon, as they seemingly never show up on time or stick to their commitments.

As shown by Cambridge Dictionary, “a flake” is defined as a person you cannot trust to remember things or to do what they promise or someone who behaves in a strange way.

Here are a few examples that utilize this term in a sentence:

• She’s known as a flake and someone who can never seem to show up at the agreed-upon time.
• Don’t become a flake because commitments are important – especially those related to work.
• My brother is known by our entire family as being a complete flake. He rarely comes to any family functions.

Procrastinator

We can use the term “procrastinator” similarly to our other alternative terms. This is because being a “procrastinator” is the type of person who habitually puts off doing things, which often results in a lack of completion or them being entirely late.

When looking at Cambridge Dictionary, we can see that a “procrastinator” is defined as someone who keeps delaying things that must be done.

The following examples show how to properly use this term in a sentence:

• My dad is such a procrastinator, that every year he buys my mom’s Christmas presents on Christmas Eve.
• I was a very large procrastinator in school, which often resulted in me completing work in a rushed manner.
• Being a major procrastinator is not considered to be an admirable or likable quality in a person.

Tidsoptomist

While the term “tidsoptomist” is Swedish, it is very applicable when referring to someone who is always late. A “tidsoptomist” literally means to be a time optimist. This is someone who is considered to be constantly late because they often believe that they have more time than they actually do.

Because of this, the term “tidsoptomist” is excellent to use when attempting to describe an individual who we feel is generally late.

For clarity purposes, we will now go over how to use this term in a sentence:

• Despite being our professor, he was known by all of the students as being a tidsoptomist.
• You need to consciously work on your tidsoptomist habits, as they often annoy your coworkers.
• She is known by her friends as being a tidsoptomist, so none feel as though they can rely on her.

Irresponsible

Another term that we can use to refer to someone who can’t seem to show up on time is “irresponsible”. This is because an “irresponsible” person is seen as someone who doesn’t show a proper sense of responsibility. This often results in them showing up late or not at all.

As shown by Cambridge Dictionary, the term “irresponsible” is defined as not thinking enough or not worrying about the possible results of what you do. This can certainly be in terms of not showing up on time or adhering to a schedule.

Here are various examples that showcase how to use this particular term:

• You were very irresponsible and careless when it came to arriving on time for your job.
• The student was very irresponsible and would consistently show up late, interrupting the lesson as he entered the classroom.
• She was very irresponsible when it came to time management, which resulted in her being terminated from her place of employment.

Unpunctual

We can use the term “unpunctual” very similar to the other alternate terms that we have gone over. This is because the term “unpunctual” is the exact opposite of the term “punctual”, which means to arrive precisely on time or early.

To be “unpunctual” is to not do something or complete something by the agreed-upon time or date. Therefore, an “unpunctual” individual can be considered someone who is usually late.

We can now look over the following examples for additional information on the use of this term:

• The city bus is notoriously unpunctual and has caused me to be late for work before.
• Please don’t invite Sam, he is incredibly unpunctual and we will be stuck waiting for him.
• She is very unpunctual by nature and it makes It difficult for employers to want to keep her around as an employee.

Behindhand

Another useful alternative that works perfectly when we are choosing to describe someone as the type of person who is consistently late is “behindhand”. While generally referring to a debt or late payments, an individual can certainly be referred to as a “behindhand” type of person.

When looking at Cambridge Dictionary, we can see that “behindhand” is defined as late in doing something or slower doing something than expected.

For added clarity on the use of this term, we can look over the following examples:

• I generally find myself staying late at work because I am usually behindhand on my tasks.
• Our country is very behindhand when it comes to political policies and economic activity.
• I was behindhand in getting my Christmas shopping done this year, which caused me to become very stressed out.

Belated

We can use the term “belated” quite consistent with the other alternative terms that we have gone over. This is because the term “belated” means for something to happen or occur much later than it should have – which also means a person can be “belated” in their arrival.

According to Cambridge Dictionary, “belated” is defined as coming later than expected. Therefore, a “belated” arrival is a usual trait of someone who is known for constantly being late.

Here are a few examples that showcase how this term can be utilized in a sentence:

• He was always late to wishing folks well for their birthday, so he was consistently saying “happy belated birthday”.
• My ex-girlfriend made a very belated attempt with her apology, which felt forced and phony.
• Our neighbours did make a belated attempt to reduce the noise from their party, but by that time, the police had already arrived.

Dilatory

“Dilatory” is another great example of a term that we can use to refer to someone who is always late. This is because “dilatory” refers to someone who is very slow to act or complete something. Something that is “dilatory” can also be intended to cause some delay.

Cambridge Dictionary defines “dilatory” as both slow and likely to cause delay.

We will now go over a few examples that highlight how this particular term can be used in a sentence:

• Banking institutions in Canada have been quite dilatory in deferring interest payments during the pandemic.
• She was often dilatory in her arrivals to work, which was causing her boss to become increasingly frustrated with her.
• The government was very dilatory in appointing a new Minister of Education, which was causing an abundance of issues within the public school system.

Inconstant

The last term that we will be going over for the purposes of this article is “inconstant”. We can use “inconstant” consistently with all of the other alternate terms because it is defined as frequently changing, irregular, not faithful or not dependable.

When looking at Cambridge Dictionary, we can see that “inconstant” is defined as not staying the same, especially in emotion, behaviour, or choice of sexual partner. Because of this, an “inconstant” person is not reliable enough to show up on time, on a regular basis.

Finally, we will go over our last few examples for this article:

• He was inconstant with his arrival to class, which caused his teacher to phone home to his parents.
• My ex-husband was the most inconstant man in the world, which always caused issues in our relationship.
• The taxi service is inconstant with their arrivals, so I wouldn’t rely on them to get you to the airport in time for your flight.

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