procrastinate

[ proh-kras-tuh-neyt, pruh- ]
See synonyms for: procrastinateprocrastinating on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object),pro·cras·ti·nat·ed, pro·cras·ti·nat·ing.
  1. to defer action; delay: to procrastinate until an opportunity is lost.

verb (used with object),pro·cras·ti·nat·ed, pro·cras·ti·nat·ing.
  1. to put off till another day or time; defer; delay.

Origin of procrastinate

1
First recorded in 1580–90; from Latin prōcrāstinātus, past participle of prōcrāstināre “to put off until tomorrow,” from prō- pro-1 + -crāstināre, derivative of crāstinus “of tomorrow” (from crās “tomorrow” + -tinus, adjective suffix)

Other words for procrastinate

Other words from procrastinate

  • pro·cras·ti·nat·ing·ly, pro·cras·ti·na·tive·ly, adverb
  • pro·cras·ti·na·tion, noun
  • pro·cras·ti·na·tive, pro·cras·ti·na·to·ry [proh-kras-tuh-nuh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee, pruh-], /proʊˈkræs tə nəˌtɔr i, -ˌtoʊr i, prə-/, adjective
  • pro·cras·ti·na·tive·ness, noun
  • pro·cras·ti·na·tor, noun
  • o·ver·pro·cras·ti·na·tion, noun
  • un·pro·cras·ti·nat·ed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use procrastinate in a sentence

  • Freitag claims she was a good student, but a procrastinator: she would study for tests with an hour to go and ace them.

  • Will you rouse the indolent procrastinator to an irksome but necessary effort, by showing him how much he has to do?

    Table-Talk | William Hazlitt
  • He may have been a procrastinator in everything else, but as a writer he was a skilled mechanic.

  • Then, to prevent the procrastinator from backing up, the salesman reached for the telephone on the advertiser's desk.

    Certain Success | Norval A. Hawkins
  • The procrastinator queries, "Cannot American man-power meet the demand?"

    Mobilizing Woman-Power | Harriot Stanton Blatch
  • The procrastinator is the veriest drudge—he has his nose to the grindstone all the time.

    Nuggets of the New Thought | William Walker Atkinson,

British Dictionary definitions for procrastinate

procrastinate

/ (prəʊˈkræstɪˌneɪt, prə-) /


verb
  1. (usually intr) to put off or defer (an action) until a later time; delay

Origin of procrastinate

1
C16: from Latin prōcrāstināre to postpone until tomorrow, from pro- 1 + crās tomorrow

Derived forms of procrastinate

  • procrastination, noun
  • procrastinator, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012