Nearby Words

Defer

[dih-fur] Example Sentences Origin

de·fer

1[dih-fur] verb, -ferred, -fer·ring.
verb (used with object)
1.
to put off (action, consideration, etc.) to a future time: The decision has been deferred by the board until next week.
2.
to exempt temporarily from induction into military service.
verb (used without object)
3.
to put off action; delay.

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Defer is a GRE word you need to know.
So is desiccant. Does it mean:
drying up
to be a mark or sign of

Origin:
1325–75; Middle English deferren, variant of differren to differ

de·fer·rer, noun


1. Defer, delay, postpone imply keeping something from occurring until a future time. To defer is to decide to do something later on: to defer making a payment. To delay is sometimes equivalent to defer, but usually it is to act in a dilatory manner and thus lay something aside: to delay one's departure. To postpone a thing is to put it off to (usually) some particular time in the future, with the intention of beginning or resuming it then: to postpone an election. 3. procrastinate.

Example Sentences
  • Experts generally recommend that you defer taxes as long as possible.
  • Forming my own opinions about what war feels like, I don't have to defer to him anymore.
  • We also defer to the trappings of authority.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged

de·fer

2[dih-fur] verb, -ferred, -fer·ring.
verb (used without object)
1.
to yield respectfully in judgment or opinion (usually followed by to): We all defer to him in these matters.
verb (used with object)
2.
to submit for decision; refer: We defer questions of this kind to the president.

Origin:
1400–50; late Middle English deferren < Latin dēferre to carry from or down, report, accuse, equivalent to dē- de- + ferre to bear1


1. accede, submit, acquiesce, capitulate.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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World English Dictionary
defer1 (dɪˈfɜː)
 
vb , -fers, -ferring, -ferred
(tr) to delay or cause to be delayed until a future time; postpone
 
[C14: from Old French differer to be different, postpone; see differ]
 
de'ferrable1
 
adj
 
de'ferable1
 
adj
 
de'ferrer1
 
n

defer2 (dɪˈfɜː)
 
vb (foll by to) , -fers, -ferring, -ferred
to yield (to) or comply (with) the wishes or judgments of another: I defer to your superior knowledge
 
[C15: from Latin dēferre, literally: to bear down, from de- + ferre to bear]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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Word Origin & History

defer
"delay," late 14c., from O.Fr. differer, from L. differre "set apart, put off, delay," also "be different, differ," from dis- "apart" + ferre "carry" (see infer). Etymologically identical with differ; the spelling and pronunciation differentiated from 15c., partly by association
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of this word with delay.

defer
"yield," late 15c., from M.Fr. deferer, from L. deferre "carry away, transfer, grant;" modern sense is from meaning "refer (a matter) to someone," from de- "down, away" + ferre "carry" (see infer).
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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