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⏰ Often late 📈 Lasting action
nonpunctual

nonpunctual

5.5
Not arriving or happening on time
  • adjective
  • /nɒnˈpʌŋkʧuəl/
: impuntual
  • The train service is known for its nonpunctual arrivals during winter.

Examples

  • His nonpunctual behavior often caused meetings to start late.

  • Her nonpunctual arrival to the meeting made everyone wait for an extra fifteen minutes.

  • Being nonpunctual can create a bad impression at work.

  • Don't be nonpunctual!

  • He is nonpunctual.

  • Being nonpunctual can negatively affect your professional relationships.

  • The nonpunctual bus service frustrates many commuters trying to get to work on time.

Synonyms

late
vsnonpunctual
∞ 1.0

Arriving after the usual or expected time

is used when lateness is habitual rather than a one-off delay
tardy
vsnonpunctual
23 3.9

Arriving or happening later than expected

is used to describe habitual lateness rather than a single delay
unpunctual
vsnonpunctual
1 6.2

Being late for the agreed time instead of arriving or starting on time

is used for habitual lateness rather than occasional occurrences

Antonyms

punctual
28 3.2

On time for a meeting or event

How Punctual

punctual
28 3.2
nonpunctual
5.5
tardy
23 3.9

Surface Forms

nonpunctual positive

Morphology

nonpunctual = punctual (transparent) = non + punctual

The meaning is a direct negation of 'punctual' ('on time') by the productive prefix 'non-', yielding 'not punctual' = habitually late.

Etymology

Nonpunctual comes from non- meaning 'not' and punctual, which has a root meaning 'point' or 'exact time', like the everyday word 'point'. So a nonpunctual person is 'not at the right point' in time — in other words, often late.