Word of the Day

: January 17, 2011

procrastinate

verb pruh-KRAS-tuh-nayt

What It Means

1 : to put off intentionally and habitually

2 : to put off intentionally the doing of something that should be done

procrastinate in Context

Somehow, despite procrastinating, Melody managed to hand her assignment in on time.

"Some high school students procrastinate on college applications because they are intimidated by the essays. Other students procrastinate because the myriad of college choices is overwhelming, making it difficult to prioritize what colleges to apply to." -- From an article in PR Newswire, December 16, 2010

Did You Know?

We won't put off telling you about out the origins of "procrastinate." English speakers borrowed the word in the 16th century from Latin "procrastinatus," which itself evolved from the prefix "pro-," meaning "forward," and "crastinus," meaning "of tomorrow." Like its synonyms "delay," "lag," "loiter," "dawdle," and "dally," "procrastinate" means to move or act slowly so as to fall behind. It typically implies blameworthy delay especially through laziness or apathy.