What is the term for a condition where an application experiences delays in processing requests?

The term "High Latency" precisely describes a condition where there are delays in processing requests within an application. Latency refers to the time it takes for a request to travel from the source to the destination and for the response to return. When latency is high, it indicates significant delays in communication, resulting in sluggish application performance and a poor user experience. This delay can stem from various factors, including network congestion, the physical distance between the client and server, or inefficiencies in processing.

In contrast, network congestion refers to a situation where the demand for network resources exceeds the available capacity, which can lead to packet loss and delays but is not synonymous with latency itself. Low bandwidth refers to the limitations on the amount of data that can be transmitted over a network connection, which can also increase the time it takes to process requests but doesn't directly measure the delay involved. High throughput indicates the capacity of a network to process a large amount of data within a given time frame, which is desirable for effective data transmission but does not address the delays encountered in processing requests.