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delay

noun

Synonyms and Antonyms of delay

an instance or period of being prevented from going about one's business
  • There was a delay for our boarding while the airplane unloaded incoming passengers.
Synonyms of delay

detainment, detention, holdback, holding pattern, holdup, wait
Words Related to delay

deferment, deferral, postponement

reprieve, respite

foot-dragging, hesitation, lag, pause, setback, slowdown
Near Antonyms of delay

haste, rush

dispatch, promptitude, promptness

delay

verb

Synonyms and Antonyms of delay

1 to move or act slowly
  • She ordered the kids to stop delaying and to get to bed.
Synonyms of delay

crawl, creep, dally, dawdle, dillydally, drag, lag, linger, loiter, lollygag (also lallygag), mope, poke, shilly-shally, tarry
Words Related to delay

fiddle (around), fool around, mess around, monkey (around), play, potter (around), putter (around), trifle

hang (around or out), idle, loaf, loll, lounge

amble, ease, inch, lumber, plod, saunter, shuffle, stagger, stroll

decelerate, slow (down or up)

filibuster, procrastinate, stall, temporize
Phrases Synonymous with delay

drag one's feet (also drag one's heels), drop behind, fall behind, hang fire, mark time, take one's time
Near Antonyms of delay

bowl, breeze, dart, hump, hurtle, hustle, scramble, stampede

gallop, jog, run, sprint, trot

accelerate, quicken, speed (up)

catch up, fast-forward, outpace, outrun, outstrip, overtake
Antonyms of delay

barrel, bolt, career, course, dash, fly, hasten, hotfoot (it), hurry, race, rip, rocket, run, rush, scoot, scud, scurry, speed, tear, whirl, whisk, whiz (or whizz), zip
2 to assign to a later time
  • Our guests delayed their departure until after dinner.
Synonyms of delay

defer, hold off (on), hold over, hold up, lay over, postpone, put off, put over, remit, shelve
Words Related to delay

suspend

hesitate, pause, stay

detain, retard, slow

extend, lengthen, prolong, protract, stretch (out)

wait
Near Antonyms of delay

act, deal (with), decide (upon), do, work (on)

Synonym Discussion of delay

delay, retard, slow, slacken, detain mean to cause to be late or behind in movement or progress. delay implies a holding back, usually by interference, from completion or arrival.
    • bad weather delayed our arrival
retard suggests reduction of speed without actual stopping.
    • language barriers retarded their progress
slow and slacken also imply a reduction of speed, slow often suggesting deliberate intention
    • medication slowed the patient's heart rate
, slacken an easing up or relaxing of power or effort.
    • on hot days runners slacken their pace
detain implies a holding back beyond a reasonable or appointed time.
    • unexpected business had detained her

Learn More about delay

  1. See words that rhyme with delay Dictionary: Definition of delay Spanish Central: Translation of delay Nglish: Translation of delay for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of delay for Arabic speakers

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