dilatory

adjective

tending to delay or procrastinate; slow; tardy.

intended to cause delay, gain time, or defer decision: a dilatory strategy.

Origin:
1250–1300; Middle English (< Anglo-French) < Latin dīlātōrius, equivalent to dīlā-, suppletive stem of differre to postpone (see differ) + -tōrius -tory¹

Related forms

dil·a·to·ri·ly, adverb

dil·a·to·ri·ness, noun

un·dil·a·to·ri·ly, adverb

un·dil·a·to·ry, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Relevant Questions

What Is A Dilatoriness?

00:10

Dilatory is a GRE word you need to know.

So is vindicate. Does it mean:

the state of being latent.

to clear, as from an accusation, imputation, suspicion, or the like; to afford justification for or justify

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Collins

World English Dictionary

dilatory (ˈdɪlətərɪ, -trɪ)

—*adj*
1.	tending or inclined to delay or waste time
2.	intended or designed to waste time or defer action

[C15: from Late Latin dīlātōrius inclined to delay, from differre to postpone; see differ]

'dilatorily

—*adv*

'dilatoriness

—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

dilatory

1530s, from L. dilatorius, from dilator "procrastinator," from dilatus, serving as pp. of differe "delay" (see defer).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences

Administration officials and legislators give various explanations, none

terribly persuasive, for the dilatory pace.

Perhaps for fear of seeming cool towards the larger goal, its governments have

been dilatory in addressing these difficulties.

Every line needed to connect to the next, with no lulls or droops in deference

to dilatory historical detail.