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"tardy" is also used as a crossword clue. If that's what you saw, the answer is often late (4 letters).
Definitions
after the expected or usual time; delayed
Word origin
From an earlier tardive, from French tardif, from Late Latin tardīvus, from Latin tardus (“slow”, “sluggish”), of obscure origin.
Used in a sentence
“He yawned, then raised a tardy hand over his mouth.”
“When everything is ended, then you come. / These tardy tricks of yours will, on my life, / One time or other break some gallows’ back.”
“Men of genius anticipate their contemporaries, and know they are such, long before the tardy consent of the public.”
Source: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0
Used as a crossword answer1 curated clues
01“Not on time”5 letters
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