postpone
verb
transitive verb
Synonyms
- defer
- delay
- hold off (on)
- hold over
- hold up
- lay over
- put off
- put over
- remit
- shelve
Example Sentences
Brandon Griggs, CNN, 8 Aug. 2022 The organization may not have had the option to postpone or move the Florida games, in practical terms. Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 6 June 2022 Online pet products retailer Chewy had been expected as the warehouse tenant, but decided in the spring to postpone or cancel plans for leasing. Don Stacom, Hartford Courant, 11 Aug. 2022 But even in those cases where activities cannot be truly eliminated, there's still the potential to postpone or deprioritize them. Mark Murphy, Forbes, 31 July 2022 Some organizations also decided to cancel or postpone gatherings or move them outside. Los Angeles Times, 29 July 2022 But when the pandemic hit in 2020, he was forced to postpone or refund dozens of reservations for guests from all over the world. Alicia Victoria Lozano, NBC News, 16 June 2022 China’s Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns have led to a shortage of a dye widely used in medical scans, prompting U.S. hospitals including the Mayo Clinic to ration supplies, postpone procedures or switch to less optimal imaging. Peter Loftus, WSJ, 17 May 2022 Four of the couples were able to walk down the aisle, while one couple unfortunately had to postpone due COVID. Shawniece Jackson And Jephte Pierre, PEOPLE.com, 21 July 2022 See More Word History
Latin postponere to place after, postpone, from post- + ponere to place — more at position
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Kids Definition
postpone
verb
Legal Definition
postpone
transitive verb
postpone
verb
Synonyms & Similar Words
- delay
- defer
- shelve
- wait
- suspend
- hesitate
- hold over
- lay over
- put over
- pause
- put off
- prolong
- remit
- slow
- hold off (on)
- stay
- lengthen
- protract
- extend
- hold up
- retard
- detain
- stretch (out)
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- do
- act
- work (on)
- deal (with)
- decide (upon)
Synonym Chooser
Some common synonyms of postpone are defer, stay, and suspend. While all these words mean "to delay an action or proceeding," postpone implies an intentional deferring usually to a definite time.
The meanings of defer and postpone largely overlap; however, defer implies a deliberate putting off to a later time.
While in some cases nearly identical to postpone, stay often suggests the stopping or checking by an intervening agency or authority.
While the synonyms suspend and postpone are close in meaning, suspend implies temporary stoppage with an added suggestion of waiting until some condition is satisfied.