as in waits
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 & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in lingers
to move or act slowly
she ordered the kids to stop delaying and to get to bed
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in postpones
to assign to a later time
our guests delayed their departure until after dinner
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of delays
William Melhado, Sacbee.com, 25 Apr. 2026
Drivers saw delays throughout the day Friday as streets running parallel to and crossing 19th Avenue also slowed while people looked for alternate routes.
—Kenny Choi, CBS News, 25 Apr. 2026
The delays and reshoots also led to financial repercussions.
—Jordana Comiter, PEOPLE, 25 Apr. 2026
The first tranche of the deal was expected to be finalized by mid-March, but talks are still ongoing, leading to further delays.
—Priyanka Salve, CNBC, 24 Apr. 2026
The time delays are very small, often just a few picoseconds.
—Ameya Paleja, Interesting Engineering, 24 Apr. 2026
Nearly a quarter of a million applications — like some of those filed by the families of the six victims — saw months long delays before being opened by the agency.
—Ximena Bustillo, NPR, 24 Apr. 2026
Housing prices and rents are inflated by restrictive zoning laws, union work and pay scale mandates, excessive building codes and environmental requirements, litigation and planning process delays, anti-landlord policies that favor deadbeats and squatters, and the list goes on.
—Adam Summers, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Apr. 2026
Originally supposed to fly Sierra Space Dream Chaser test flight, but payload switched to an inert mass simulator because of potential Dream Chaser delays beyond October launch date.
—Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 11 Apr. 2026
Aki Nace, CBS News, 21 Apr. 2026
The plan also maintains full scope Medi-Cal for asylees and other immigrant groups who were cut out of Medicaid by the federal government and delays Medi-Cal premiums for undocumented immigrants that would otherwise begin on July 1, 2027 to July 1, 2028.
—Kate Wolffe, Sacbee.com, 16 Apr. 2026
According to the Terner Center at UC Berkeley, each additional public funding source an affordable developer uses, on average, delays a project four months and increases total cost by $20,460 per unit — more than $2 million for a 100-unit community.
—Andrew Khouri, Los Angeles Times, 15 Apr. 2026
Refrigeration delays the decay of strawberries.
—Jessica Farthing, Southern Living, 10 Apr. 2026
That delays emptying of the stomach.
—Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 27 Mar. 2026
But having firefighters wait before starting preparations also delays when they can be dispatched to emergencies, which has lengthened response times — and has likely cost many lives across the city, the 60-page audit says.
—David Garrick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Mar. 2026
With annuals like snapdragons, removing flower stalks delays the formation of seed production and the plants send out more shoots.
—Tom MacCubbin, The Orlando Sentinel, 21 Mar. 2026
Too much light in the evening — that extra hour from daylight saving time — delays that surge and the cycle gets out of sync.
—Lauran Neergaard, Chicago Tribune, 7 Mar. 2026
Noun
One challenge the next state controller will face is the effort to modernize the state’s payroll system, which has encountered significant delays and is one of California’s most costly IT projects.
—William Melhado, Sacbee.com, 25 Apr. 2026
Drivers saw delays throughout the day Friday as streets running parallel to and crossing 19th Avenue also slowed while people looked for alternate routes.
—Kenny Choi, CBS News, 25 Apr. 2026
The delays and reshoots also led to financial repercussions.
—Jordana Comiter, PEOPLE, 25 Apr. 2026
The first tranche of the deal was expected to be finalized by mid-March, but talks are still ongoing, leading to further delays.
—Priyanka Salve, CNBC, 24 Apr. 2026
The time delays are very small, often just a few picoseconds.
—Ameya Paleja, Interesting Engineering, 24 Apr. 2026
Nearly a quarter of a million applications — like some of those filed by the families of the six victims — saw months long delays before being opened by the agency.
—Ximena Bustillo, NPR, 24 Apr. 2026
Housing prices and rents are inflated by restrictive zoning laws, union work and pay scale mandates, excessive building codes and environmental requirements, litigation and planning process delays, anti-landlord policies that favor deadbeats and squatters, and the list goes on.
—Adam Summers, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Apr. 2026
Originally supposed to fly Sierra Space Dream Chaser test flight, but payload switched to an inert mass simulator because of potential Dream Chaser delays beyond October launch date.
—Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 11 Apr. 2026
Verb
Frey vetoed the ordinance, arguing that an eviction pause does not actually provide relief and only delays an inevitable problem.
—Aki Nace, CBS News, 21 Apr. 2026
The plan also maintains full scope Medi-Cal for asylees and other immigrant groups who were cut out of Medicaid by the federal government and delays Medi-Cal premiums for undocumented immigrants that would otherwise begin on July 1, 2027 to July 1, 2028.
—Kate Wolffe, Sacbee.com, 16 Apr. 2026
According to the Terner Center at UC Berkeley, each additional public funding source an affordable developer uses, on average, delays a project four months and increases total cost by $20,460 per unit — more than $2 million for a 100-unit community.
—Andrew Khouri, Los Angeles Times, 15 Apr. 2026
Refrigeration delays the decay of strawberries.
—Jessica Farthing, Southern Living, 10 Apr. 2026
That delays emptying of the stomach.
—Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 27 Mar. 2026
But having firefighters wait before starting preparations also delays when they can be dispatched to emergencies, which has lengthened response times — and has likely cost many lives across the city, the 60-page audit says.
—David Garrick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Mar. 2026
With annuals like snapdragons, removing flower stalks delays the formation of seed production and the plants send out more shoots.
—Tom MacCubbin, The Orlando Sentinel, 21 Mar. 2026
Too much light in the evening — that extra hour from daylight saving time — delays that surge and the cycle gets out of sync.
—Lauran Neergaard, Chicago Tribune, 7 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for delays
Noun
-
Insurance coverage for mental illnesses further complicates the problem of consistent care because the number of visits to mental health professionals are usually limited, and there are often long waits to see providers.—
Jeffrey Freedman,
Sun Sentinel,
27 Apr. 2026
-
When families flocked to Yosemite National Park during their recent spring breaks, some met two-hour waits at the entrance gates.—
Justine McDaniel,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The threat of death always lingers – just ask my wooden stairs.—
David Oliver,
USA Today,
29 Apr. 2026
-
The Panama Canal is experiencing an uptick in traffic and generating more lucrative bids to transit the trade artery, aligning with a spike in demand for its reservation system as the Iran war lingers and uncertainty persists regarding the safety of the Strait of Hormuz.—
Glenn Taylor,
Footwear News,
29 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
This is equally true of society, and disregarding this truth only postpones the moment of reckoning.—
Alec Nevala-Lee,
The Atlantic,
23 Apr. 2026
-
The system records enormous detail about decisions but often postpones the moment when those decisions are definitively validated.—
Holland Haynie,
STAT,
21 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The trio pulled up on e-bikes, drove up to the entrance of the Information Center and began shouting and taking pictures, pausing to take drags off a vape while peering through the shuttered doors.—
James Queally,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Apr. 2026
-
Work fewer than 35 years and the SSA plugs zeros into the missing slots, which drags your benefit down.—
Allison Palmer,
Charlotte Observer,
28 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Postponing elections thus also defers possibilities for political transformation.—
Jasmin Lilian Diab,
The Conversation,
5 Apr. 2026
-
Depending on how long the renter defers part of the payment, Livble’s fees can translate into effective annual percentage rates of roughly 104% to 139%.—
Ken Sweet,
Fortune,
4 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Think about how often your toddler crawls near the dog bed or your kids toss pet toys around the living room.—
Lauren Jarvis-Gibson,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
9 Apr. 2026
-
In the book, Grace drags Rocky back to his part of the ship, exposing himself to the Eridian environment; in the film, Rocky crawls back while Grace is unconscious.—
Matthew Razak,
Space.com,
23 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The script lightly pokes fun at the lofty ambitions of theater-makers who aim to change lives through their art, while ultimately affirming the power of theater to lift people’s spirits.—
Emily McClanathan,
Chicago Tribune,
17 Apr. 2026
-
The clip also pokes fun at Roach's retirement announcement in 2023, only to return to the industry two years later.—
Catherine Santino,
PEOPLE,
10 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
In linear ratings, the freshman lags behind its hot-shot Tuesday lead-ins, Will Trent and High Potential, which both have been renewed.—
Nellie Andreeva,
Deadline,
30 Apr. 2026
-
That population lags in insurance access, but because the Hispanic community tends to be younger than other groups, the consequences are less severe, Kolb said.—
Cindy Krischer Goodman,
Sun Sentinel,
29 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Delays.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/delays. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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