habitual lateness
1
4.5
- noun
- /həˈbɪtʃuəl ˈleɪtnəs/
:
tardanza habitual
- The teacher addressed the student's habitual lateness during the parent-teacher meeting.
Examples
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Habitual lateness can harm your professional reputation and affect your relationships at work.
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His habitual lateness annoys everyone at work.
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Despite many warnings, his habitual lateness resulted in a formal complaint from his manager.
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She is known for her habitual lateness to meetings.
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Her habitual lateness caused her to miss many important meetings.
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His habitual lateness made his friends worry about whether he would show up.
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The teacher was frustrated with the student's habitual lateness to class.
Synonyms
15
4.1
Arriving late for work, school, or an appointment
10
1.6
Arriving after the time people expect you to be there
A state of being late or delayed beyond the expected time
Antonyms
How Relaxed
- Informal
1
9.9
- Informal
1
4.5
321
1.0
27
3.2
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is a straightforward adjective + noun composition where 'habitual' (regular, characteristic) modifies 'lateness' (arriving after the expected time), so the combined meaning is directly inferable from the parts. This follows a common compositional pattern found across languages, so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily understand the MWE.
Etymology
Habitual lateness comes from a simple picture: the word habitual means 'a repeated habit' and lateness means 'being late', describing someone who is late again and again, like a clock that always runs slow. So, it means 'the regular habit of being late'.