as in delaying
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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as in stalling
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Recent Examples of procrastinating
Grant Stringer, Mercury News, 20 Oct. 2025
Even among clothing and footwear purveyors that remain unshaken in their promises, nearly two-thirds are procrastinating on their decarbonization schedules, a recent McKinsey study found.
—Jasmin Malik Chua, Sourcing Journal, 8 Oct. 2025
Two-thirds of givers admit to procrastinating family wealth-transfer conversations, according to a national RBC Wealth Management survey.
—Medora Lee, USA Today, 18 Sep. 2025
Adjective
Nolan, an elections veteran, has sage advice for voters who may be procrastinating at filling out and returning their ballots.
—Grant Stringer, Mercury News, 20 Oct. 2025
Even among clothing and footwear purveyors that remain unshaken in their promises, nearly two-thirds are procrastinating on their decarbonization schedules, a recent McKinsey study found.
—Jasmin Malik Chua, Sourcing Journal, 8 Oct. 2025
Two-thirds of givers admit to procrastinating family wealth-transfer conversations, according to a national RBC Wealth Management survey.
—Medora Lee, USA Today, 18 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for procrastinating
Verb
-
The odds of a prolonged federal government shutdown stretching into mid-November have jumped as negotiations to pass a funding bill continue stalling in the Senate, according to Polymarket betting odds.—
Andrew Stanton,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 Oct. 2025
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Attempts to add more stringent enforcement requirements, however, keep stalling in the Legislature.—
CalMatters,
Mercury News,
17 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Whether or not to cut back coneflowers is ultimately based on preference, but there are some advantages to delaying the process.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
24 Oct. 2025
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But SpaceX is not remotely ready to deliver, with serial failures of its mammoth Starship rocket delaying development of the lander.—
Jeffrey Kluger,
Time,
24 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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And, through it all, stocks have continued to steadily rise, buoyed by hopes for Fed rate cuts, stronger-than-expected corporate earnings and slowing but stubborn confidence that an AI boom might reap big rewards for investors.—
John Towfighi,
CNN Money,
29 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Tropical Storm Melissa is crawling through the Caribbean Sea, threatening to unleash life-threatening flooding and mudslides across parts of the region later this week.—
Briana Waxman,
CNN Money,
22 Oct. 2025
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These flat robots have multiple modes of movement, capable of jumping or crawling at multiple speeds.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
18 Oct. 2025
Verb
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With the shutdown dragging on, GOP leaders in Congress will have to decide soon whether to extend that date, and by how much.—
Bart Jansen,
USA Today,
21 Oct. 2025
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The comments came deep into the third week of the shutdown, which is dragging on with no clear end in sight amid a partisan fight in the Senate over federal funding priorities.—
Kevin Breuninger,
CNBC,
20 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Procrastinating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/procrastinating. Accessed 27 Oct. 2025.
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