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Synonyms
Defer - 10 dictionary results
de⋅fer
1
[di-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. |
Related forms:
de⋅fer⋅rer, noun
Synonyms:
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.
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.
de⋅fer
2 [di-fur] verb, -ferred, -fer⋅ring.–verb (used without object)
| 1. | to yield respectfully in judgment or opinion (usually fol. 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. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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|
Link To Defer
| de·fer 1 (dĭ-fûr') v. de·ferred, de·fer·ring, de·fers v. tr.
To procrastinate. [Middle English differren, to postpone, differ; see differ.] de·fer'ra·ble adj., de·fer'rer n. Synonyms: These verbs mean to put off until a later time: deferred paying the bills; postponing our trip; shelved the issue; stay an execution; suspending train service. |
| de·fer 2 (dĭ-fûr') v. de·ferred, de·fer·ring, de·fers v. intr. To submit to the opinion, wishes, or decision of another through respect or in recognition of his or her authority, knowledge, or judgment. See Synonyms at yield. v. tr. To commit or entrust to another. [Middle English deferen, from Old French deferer, from Latin dēferre, to carry away, refer to : dē-, de- + ferre, to carry; see bher-1 in Indo-European roots.] de·fer'rer n. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Defer
De*fer"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Deferred; p. pr. & vb. n. Deferring.] [OE. differren, F. diff['e]rer, fr. L. differre to delay, bear different ways; dis- + ferre to bear. See Bear to support, and cf. Differ, Defer to offer.] To put off; to postpone to a future time; to delay the execution of; to delay; to withhold. Defer the spoil of the city until night. --Shak. God . . . will not long defer To vindicate the glory of his name. --Milton.Defer
De*fer"\, v. i. To put off; to delay to act; to wait. Pius was able to defer and temporize at leisure. --J. A. Symonds.Defer
De*fer"\, v. t. [F. d['e]f['e]rer to pay deference, to yield, to bring before a judge, fr. L. deferre to bring down; de- + ferre to bear. See Bear to support, and cf. Defer to delay, Delate.]1. To render or offer. [Obs.] Worship deferred to the Virgin. --Brevint. 2. To lay before; to submit in a respectful manner; to refer; -- with to. Hereupon the commissioners . . . deferred the matter to the Earl of Northumberland. --Bacon.Defer
De*fer"\, v. i. To yield deference to the wishes of another; to submit to the opinion of another, or to authority; -- with to. The house, deferring to legal right, acquiesced. --Bancroft.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : Defer
Spanish:
posponer, diferir,
German:
verschieben,
Japanese:
延ばす
defer (1)
"delay," c.1375, 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 of this word with delay.
defer (2)
"yield," 1479, 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). Deferential is from 1880.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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