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
Preston Fore, Fortune, 25 Oct. 2025
Advertisement While the commercial supply of goods has improved since the cease-fire deal, the flow of humanitarian aid continues to be marred by bureaucracy, delays, and blockages.
—Anna Halford, Time, 25 Oct. 2025
Originally slated to premiere in 2016, the film suffered numerous delays in production and release.
—Keith Langston, PEOPLE, 25 Oct. 2025
The project initially eyed a 2023 opening date, but construction delays have pushed that back.
—Neil Nakahodo, Kansas City Star, 25 Oct. 2025
These off-peak options often come with lower prices, fewer delays, lighter airport crowds, and less competition for rental cars and accommodations.
—Essence, 24 Oct. 2025
Last week, air traffic control absences accounted for 53% of flight delays since the shutdown began, compared with 5% normally.
—David Shepardson, USA Today, 24 Oct. 2025
Washington — Every day of the federal government shutdown air traffic controllers calling out sick have caused flight delays, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Friday.
—Alexandra Skores, CNN Money, 24 Oct. 2025
Even if the shutdown ended tomorrow, state officials have warned there will be delays in issuing November's FoodShare benefits.
—Sarah Volpenhein, jsonline.com, 24 Oct. 2025
Tara Haelle, Scientific American, 14 Oct. 2025
That clogs the judicial system, wastes limited resources, and delays justice for those with legitimate grievances.
—Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Oct. 2025
These early shifts—less COVID vaccination; fewer options for flu, MMR, and chickenpox vaccines; and, perhaps soon, delays to the hepatitis-B schedule—may seem benign enough.
—Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 18 Sep. 2025
Too much light in the evening — that extra hour from daylight saving time — delays that surge and the cycle gets out of sync.
—Jeremy Tanner, The Hill, 17 Sep. 2025
Should any of these elements fail— delays in deliveries, certification challenges, cost overruns, or weakening demand—the possible losses could be significant.
—Trefis Team, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
The wait can leave workers wondering what’s fair and what’s legal when an employer delays payment.
—Tiffani Jackson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 Sep. 2025
John Malkovich shows up for a tangent that is meant to be expositional, but really only needlessly delays what’s coming.
—Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 7 Sep. 2025
To accommodate the high number of calls, Fagan said the district started using ambulances from neighboring districts, which delays response times.
—Addison Wright, Chicago Tribune, 27 Aug. 2025
Noun
On Friday evening, airports in Phoenix, Houston and San Diego were reporting delays because of staffing issues, and the Federal Aviation Administration warned that staffing problems were also possible at airports in the New York area, Dallas and Philadelphia.
—Preston Fore, Fortune, 25 Oct. 2025
Advertisement While the commercial supply of goods has improved since the cease-fire deal, the flow of humanitarian aid continues to be marred by bureaucracy, delays, and blockages.
—Anna Halford, Time, 25 Oct. 2025
Originally slated to premiere in 2016, the film suffered numerous delays in production and release.
—Keith Langston, PEOPLE, 25 Oct. 2025
The project initially eyed a 2023 opening date, but construction delays have pushed that back.
—Neil Nakahodo, Kansas City Star, 25 Oct. 2025
These off-peak options often come with lower prices, fewer delays, lighter airport crowds, and less competition for rental cars and accommodations.
—Essence, 24 Oct. 2025
Last week, air traffic control absences accounted for 53% of flight delays since the shutdown began, compared with 5% normally.
—David Shepardson, USA Today, 24 Oct. 2025
Washington — Every day of the federal government shutdown air traffic controllers calling out sick have caused flight delays, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Friday.
—Alexandra Skores, CNN Money, 24 Oct. 2025
Even if the shutdown ended tomorrow, state officials have warned there will be delays in issuing November's FoodShare benefits.
—Sarah Volpenhein, jsonline.com, 24 Oct. 2025
Verb
But that was before the arrival of teplizumab, a monoclonal antibody approved in late 2022 that delays the advance of the illness and may even halt it at stage 2 in some people.
—Tara Haelle, Scientific American, 14 Oct. 2025
That clogs the judicial system, wastes limited resources, and delays justice for those with legitimate grievances.
—Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Oct. 2025
These early shifts—less COVID vaccination; fewer options for flu, MMR, and chickenpox vaccines; and, perhaps soon, delays to the hepatitis-B schedule—may seem benign enough.
—Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 18 Sep. 2025
Too much light in the evening — that extra hour from daylight saving time — delays that surge and the cycle gets out of sync.
—Jeremy Tanner, The Hill, 17 Sep. 2025
Should any of these elements fail— delays in deliveries, certification challenges, cost overruns, or weakening demand—the possible losses could be significant.
—Trefis Team, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
The wait can leave workers wondering what’s fair and what’s legal when an employer delays payment.
—Tiffani Jackson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 Sep. 2025
John Malkovich shows up for a tangent that is meant to be expositional, but really only needlessly delays what’s coming.
—Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 7 Sep. 2025
To accommodate the high number of calls, Fagan said the district started using ambulances from neighboring districts, which delays response times.
—Addison Wright, Chicago Tribune, 27 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for delays
Noun
-
While Rising waits to be served a burger and fries on a disposable plate, Brady Smigiel walks toward the quad.—
Brian Hamilton,
New York Times,
17 Oct. 2025
-
For people who live in and around Tucson, flights with connections in Phoenix allow flyers access to what Sky Harbor has to offer without dealing with longer waits for check-in and security and enduring the metro area's traffic, said Austin Wright, spokesman for the Tucson Airport Authority.—
Michael Salerno,
AZCentral.com,
14 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
There are occasional reminders that the Mafia lingers.—
Preston Fore,
Fortune,
25 Oct. 2025
-
The camera lingers for a few seconds on Miguel, in his new emotive state for the rest of his life, without Marta.—
John Hopewell,
Variety,
24 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Scripps continues to pursue a strategy that focuses on the northern parts of San Diego County and postpones reconstruction plans for Scripps Mercy Hospital, which operates sister campuses in Hillcrest and Chula Vista.—
Paul Sisson,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
25 Sep. 2025
-
The panel’s decision postpones the effective dates of TPS terminations directed by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.—
Antonio Pequeño IV,
Forbes.com,
29 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
When a storm crawls like this, rainfall piles up over the same towns for days.—
Briana Waxman,
CNN Money,
24 Oct. 2025
-
Everything except Eidra, who asks him not to leave and crawls into his arms.—
Sophie Brookover,
Vulture,
18 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Buffett’s buy-and-hold approach not only compounds wealth but also defers taxes, allowing more capital to keep working year after year.—
Robert Daugherty,
Forbes.com,
13 Sep. 2025
-
The strategy seeds ETFs before launch, and the original investor defers capital gains until selling their shares.—
Kate Dore, CFP®, EA,
CNBC,
21 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
However, the risk of adverse effects grows the longer a shutdown drags on.—
Rachel Barber,
USA Today,
22 Oct. 2025
-
As the government shutdown drags on, Americans are turning more negative on Congress, according to new Gallup polling.—
Morgan Chalfant,
semafor.com,
22 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Who else pokes holes in this claim?—
U T Editorial Board,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
20 Oct. 2025
-
Later in the episode, Kelce's cohost and brother, Jason Kelce, pokes fun at Lively's athleticism in a storyline that sees Bridget attend a soccer camp.—
Shania Russell,
Entertainment Weekly,
7 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
What Happens Next Seniors have lost 20 percent of their purchasing power in Social Security payments since 2010 as COLA routinely lags actual inflation, Ryan said.—
Suzanne Blake,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 Oct. 2025
-
Uncertainty over the timing, pace, funding and size of such policies is likely to keep economists and investors concerned over the government’s ability to rebalance an economy in which household consumption lags global averages by about 20 percentage points of GDP.—
Reuters,
NBC news,
23 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Delays.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/delays. Accessed 26 Oct. 2025.
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