as in to delay
to be slow or late about doing something that should be done; to delay doing something until a later time because you do not want to do it, because you are lazy, etc.
He procrastinated and missed the submission deadline. He told her to stop procrastinating and get to work.
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Recent Examples of procrastinate
By now, most with significant others (who did NOT procrastinate and wait until the last minute,) have already gone out to buy the requisite greeting cards and chocolates.
—
Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 14 Feb. 2025
Laura Levine/Corbis, via Getty Images Ten creative minds on how to start, pivot and productively procrastinate.
—Kate Guadagnino, New York Times, 21 Nov. 2024
Nearly 33% of Americans procrastinate filing their taxes, according to a survey from real estate company IPX1031, which polled roughly 1,000 U.S. residents in January.
—Kate Dore, Cfp®, Ea, CNBC, 21 Feb. 2025
People procrastinate, and couples usually have to call, text, or email right before the cutoff date.
—Alice Gibbs, Newsweek, 20 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for procrastinate
Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 14 Feb. 2025
Laura Levine/Corbis, via Getty Images Ten creative minds on how to start, pivot and productively procrastinate.
—Kate Guadagnino, New York Times, 21 Nov. 2024
Nearly 33% of Americans procrastinate filing their taxes, according to a survey from real estate company IPX1031, which polled roughly 1,000 U.S. residents in January.
—Kate Dore, Cfp®, Ea, CNBC, 21 Feb. 2025
People procrastinate, and couples usually have to call, text, or email right before the cutoff date.
—Alice Gibbs, Newsweek, 20 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for procrastinate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for procrastinate
Verb
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Early morning flights are typically the least likely to be canceled or delayed, and taking nonstop flights whenever possible reduces your chances of an issue during your journey.—
Zach Wichter,
USA Today,
15 May 2025
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The board also leaves out other considerations that people have for delaying or not having children: the environmental crisis, for one example.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
14 May 2025
Verb
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Noisy freight trains crawled through day and night, stalling vehicle and pedestrian traffic at railroad crossings and dictating the pace of life for many residents.—
Ray Sanchez,
CNN Money,
15 May 2025
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CIOs need to start by assessing the current data friction points—where latency, siloed systems, or access bottlenecks are stalling AI initiatives.—
Sven Oehme,
Forbes.com,
15 May 2025
Verb
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When the window broke, the bear crawled out safely and returned to the woods.—
Shyla Watson,
People.com,
10 May 2025
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Inspectors saw one rat crawling from the top equipment shelf in an unapproved back dry storage area onto the roof, and another rat on an electrical line behind a two-door household freezer/refrigerator in the same dry storage area.—
Veronica Fernandez-Alvarado,
Sacbee.com,
9 May 2025
Verb
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Andre needs some help The Brazil international midfielder dragged himself from the field near the end on Saturday, with Pereira later allaying any fears about an injury.—
Steve Madeley,
New York Times,
12 May 2025
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Gunther dragged Cole into the ring and threatened to power bomb Cole before McAfee interrupted with a bicycle kick.—
Alfred Konuwa,
Forbes.com,
11 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Procrastinate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/procrastinate. Accessed 21 May. 2025.
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