defer

1 of 2

verb (1)

de·fer di-ˈfər How to pronounce defer (audio)

deferred; deferring

transitive verb

: put off, delay

: to postpone induction of (a person) into military service

deferrer noun

defer

2 of 2

verb (2)

deferred; deferring

transitive verb

: to delegate to another

he could defer his job to no one

J. A. Michener

intransitive verb

: to submit to another's wishes, opinion, or governance usually through deference or respect

deferred to her father's wishes

Did you know?

There are two words spelled defer in English. The other defer, which means "to delegate to another for determination or decision" or "to submit to another's wishes or opinion" (as in "I defer to your superior expertise"), is derived from the Latin verb deferre, meaning "to bring down." The defer we're featuring today is derived from Latin differre, which itself has several meanings including "to postpone" and "to differ." Not surprisingly, differre is also the source of our word differ, meaning "to be different."

Example Sentences

Verb (1) Backers say the arrangement will make patients more cost-conscious and judicious in their use of medical service, thus restraining health-cost increases; critics say it will cause patients to defer needed treatment and will be attractive only to younger, healthier workers.

Wall Street Journal, 9 Jan. 2006 A far stronger signal came when the draft was revived, shortly before the United States entered World War II. Although married men with families were eligible for induction, in many cases up to the age of forty, high school students were automatically deferred.

Thomas Hine, American Heritage, September 1999 The decision was deferred for a time. John didn't want to do anything drastic until after October …

Joe Klein, Payback, 1984 Verb (2) But in 1775, when William chose loyalty to empire over deference to his father, Franklin abruptly, angrily, and permanently broke with his son. Despite having defied his own father (in leaving Boston), Franklin pulled patriarchal rank to demand that his son defer to his politics: "there are natural duties which precede political ones, and cannot be extinguished by them."

Alan Taylor, New Republic, 13 Jan. 2003 Israelis can be harsh with each other, but they defer to the security guards who check their backpacks at the mall entrances. They put their faith in the Army.

David Brooks, Newsweek, 22 Oct. 2001

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Blacks interviewed weren’t as willing to defer to the prejudices of whites as their forebears had been in the South, where segregation was enforced by law and lynching.

Ron Grossman, Chicago Tribune, 4 Sep. 2022 Chevron, which compels courts to defer to agency interpretations, removed that check on executive power.

WSJ, 30 Aug. 2022 Officials are also considering allowing homebuyers to defer mortgage payments without penalties.

Yvonne Lau, Fortune, 18 July 2022 Acting before the Ohio Supreme Court rules could be a waste of resources and override court precedent that federal courts should defer to states in drawing political maps, Marbley said.

Andrew J. Tobias, cleveland, 14 Mar. 2022 In this Future View, students discuss if President Biden should defer student debt.

WSJ, 18 Jan. 2022 In January, the NCAA updated its transgender participation policy to defer to the guidance of each sport’s governing body.

Fox News, 12 July 2022 That's a break from the past, when federal courts tended to defer to agencies.

John Fritze, USA TODAY, 30 June 2022 At least in the case of oral surgery, the patient and surgeon can generally agree on what needs to be done and the patient is generally willing to defer to the surgeon’s judgment in determining how to resolve a particular problem.

Mark Settle, Forbes, 21 June 2022 See More

Word History

Etymology

Verb (1)

Middle English differren, deferren, borrowed from Anglo-French differer, borrowed (with conjugational change) from Latin differre "to carry away in varying directions, spread abroad, postpone, delay, be unlike or distinct" — more at differ

Note: The verb defer is not distinct etymologically from differ—see note at etymology of that entry. The spelling of the initial unstressed syllable as -e- was perhaps by association with delay entry 2.

Verb (2)

Middle English differen, deferen "to submit (a matter) for decision, submit to another's judgment," borrowed from Middle French deferer, deferrer "to bring (a defendant) before a court, submit to another's will," borrowed (with conjugation change) from Medieval Latin dēferre "to convey, show respect, submit to a decision" (Late Latin, "to pay respect to"), going back to Latin, "to bring down, convey, transfer, submit," from dē- de- + ferre "to carry, convey" — more at bear entry 2

First Known Use

Verb (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb (2)

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

defer

verb

as in to postpone

to assign to a later time we agreed to defer a discussion of the issue until we had more information

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

postpone
delay
wait
shelve
suspend
hesitate
hold over
lay over
remit
put over
put off
pause
hold off (on)
slow
prolong
stay
hold up
lengthen
detain
protract
retard
extend
stretch (out)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

do
work (on)
act
deal (with)
decide (upon)

Synonym Chooser

Some common synonyms of defer are postpone, stay, and suspend. While all these words mean "to delay an action or proceeding," defer implies a deliberate putting off to a later time.

deferred buying a car until spring

While in some cases nearly identical to defer, postpone implies an intentional deferring usually to a definite time.

the game is postponed until Saturday

While the synonyms stay and defer are close in meaning, stay often suggests the stopping or checking by an intervening agency or authority.

the governor stayed the execution

The words suspend and defer are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, suspend implies temporary stoppage with an added suggestion of waiting until some condition is satisfied.

business will be suspended while repairs are underway

单词	defer
释义	defer 1 of 2 verb (1) de·fer di-ˈfər deferred; deferring transitive verb 1 : put off, delay 2 : to postpone induction of (a person) into military service deferrer noun defer 2 of 2 verb (2) deferred; deferring transitive verb : to delegate to another he could defer his job to no one J. A. Michener intransitive verb : to submit to another's wishes, opinion, or governance usually through deference or respect deferred to her father's wishes Did you know? There are two words spelled defer in English. The other defer, which means "to delegate to another for determination or decision" or "to submit to another's wishes or opinion" (as in "I defer to your superior expertise"), is derived from the Latin verb deferre, meaning "to bring down." The defer we're featuring today is derived from Latin differre, which itself has several meanings including "to postpone" and "to differ." Not surprisingly, differre is also the source of our word differ, meaning "to be different." Synonyms Verb (1) delay hold off (on) hold over hold up lay over postpone put off put over remit shelve See all Synonyms & Antonyms Example Sentences Verb (1) Backers say the arrangement will make patients more cost-conscious and judicious in their use of medical service, thus restraining health-cost increases; critics say it will cause patients to defer needed treatment and will be attractive only to younger, healthier workers. Wall Street Journal, 9 Jan. 2006 A far stronger signal came when the draft was revived, shortly before the United States entered World War II. Although married men with families were eligible for induction, in many cases up to the age of forty, high school students were automatically deferred. Thomas Hine, American Heritage, September 1999 The decision was deferred for a time. John didn't want to do anything drastic until after October … Joe Klein, Payback, 1984 Verb (2) But in 1775, when William chose loyalty to empire over deference to his father, Franklin abruptly, angrily, and permanently broke with his son. Despite having defied his own father (in leaving Boston), Franklin pulled patriarchal rank to demand that his son defer to his politics: "there are natural duties which precede political ones, and cannot be extinguished by them." Alan Taylor, New Republic, 13 Jan. 2003 Israelis can be harsh with each other, but they defer to the security guards who check their backpacks at the mall entrances. They put their faith in the Army. David Brooks, Newsweek, 22 Oct. 2001 Recent Examples on the Web Verb Blacks interviewed weren’t as willing to defer to the prejudices of whites as their forebears had been in the South, where segregation was enforced by law and lynching. Ron Grossman, Chicago Tribune, 4 Sep. 2022 Chevron, which compels courts to defer to agency interpretations, removed that check on executive power. WSJ, 30 Aug. 2022 Officials are also considering allowing homebuyers to defer mortgage payments without penalties. Yvonne Lau, Fortune, 18 July 2022 Acting before the Ohio Supreme Court rules could be a waste of resources and override court precedent that federal courts should defer to states in drawing political maps, Marbley said. Andrew J. Tobias, cleveland, 14 Mar. 2022 In this Future View, students discuss if President Biden should defer student debt. WSJ, 18 Jan. 2022 In January, the NCAA updated its transgender participation policy to defer to the guidance of each sport’s governing body. Fox News, 12 July 2022 That's a break from the past, when federal courts tended to defer to agencies. John Fritze, USA TODAY, 30 June 2022 At least in the case of oral surgery, the patient and surgeon can generally agree on what needs to be done and the patient is generally willing to defer to the surgeon’s judgment in determining how to resolve a particular problem. Mark Settle, Forbes, 21 June 2022 See More Word History Etymology Verb (1) Middle English differren, deferren, borrowed from Anglo-French differer, borrowed (with conjugational change) from Latin differre "to carry away in varying directions, spread abroad, postpone, delay, be unlike or distinct" — more at differ Note: The verb defer is not distinct etymologically from differ—see note at etymology of that entry. The spelling of the initial unstressed syllable as -e- was perhaps by association with delay entry 2. Verb (2) Middle English differen, deferen "to submit (a matter) for decision, submit to another's judgment," borrowed from Middle French deferer, deferrer "to bring (a defendant) before a court, submit to another's will," borrowed (with conjugation change) from Medieval Latin dēferre "to convey, show respect, submit to a decision" (Late Latin, "to pay respect to"), going back to Latin, "to bring down, convey, transfer, submit," from dē- de- + ferre "to carry, convey" — more at bear entry 2 First Known Use Verb (1) 14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1 Verb (2) 15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense Phrases Containing defer defer to defer to (something) defer to defer to (something) Kids Definition defer 1 of 2 verb de·fer di-ˈfər deferred; deferring : to put off to a future time : postpone The test is deferred to next week. defer 2 of 2 verb deferred; deferring : to give in or yield to the opinion or wishes of another defer verb as in to postpone to assign to a later time we agreed to defer a discussion of the issue until we had more information Synonyms & Similar Words Relevance postpone delay wait shelve suspend hesitate hold over lay over remit put over put off pause hold off (on) slow prolong stay hold up lengthen detain protract retard extend stretch (out) Antonyms & Near Antonyms do work (on) act deal (with) decide (upon) Synonym Chooser Some common synonyms of defer are postpone, stay, and suspend. While all these words mean "to delay an action or proceeding," defer implies a deliberate putting off to a later time. deferred buying a car until spring While in some cases nearly identical to defer, postpone implies an intentional deferring usually to a definite time. the game is postponed until Saturday While the synonyms stay and defer are close in meaning, stay often suggests the stopping or checking by an intervening agency or authority. the governor stayed the execution The words suspend and defer are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, suspend implies temporary stoppage with an added suggestion of waiting until some condition is satisfied. business will be suspended while repairs are underway
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defer

verb (1)

verb (2)

Did you know?

Synonyms

Example Sentences

Word History

Phrases Containing defer

Kids Definition

verb

verb

verb

Synonym Chooser