as in stalling
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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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Recent Examples of procrastinating
Medora Lee, USA Today, 8 Mar. 2026
Now stop procrastinating and go shovel that walkway.
—Joseph Howlett, Scientific American, 23 Feb. 2026
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
Verb
Two-thirds of givers admit to procrastinating family wealth-transfer conversations, according to a national RBC Wealth Management survey.
—Medora Lee, USA Today, 8 Mar. 2026
Now stop procrastinating and go shovel that walkway.
—Joseph Howlett, Scientific American, 23 Feb. 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for procrastinating
Adjective
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The tense talks continued into a second day but concluded without progress, in a diplomatic effort that seemed little more than another stalling game for Putin.—
Elizabeth Shackelford,
Chicago Tribune,
20 Feb. 2026
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Republican House Speaker Dustin Burrows promised swift action and vowed to brook no more stalling tactics from Democrats.—
Dave Goldiner,
New York Daily News,
19 Aug. 2025
Verb
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The law, called the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, allowed for a single extension delaying the restriction under certain conditions, Warner noted.—
Todd Spangler,
Variety,
18 Mar. 2026
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Trouble at an Xcel Energy substation caused a power outage lasting about an hour that triggered a Federal Aviation Administration order to ground flights to Denver International Airport on Wednesday morning, leading to darkness and disarray in DIA and delaying thousands of travelers.—
Bruce Finley,
Denver Post,
18 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Hanson, who spends much of his life crawling through underbrush to count trees, plunged ahead into stands of chest-high ceanothus, pointing out sequoias camouflaged in the pervasive post-fire brush.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
13 Mar. 2026
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That didn’t bother the three roaches crawling on the floor by a carbon dioxide tank inside the storage room behind the office.—
David J. Neal,
Miami Herald,
13 Mar. 2026
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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Jones continued to pull on the bag, dragging the man around, according to the footage.—
Caroline Zimmerman,
Kansas City Star,
17 Mar. 2026
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Pulled straight out of Ireland and dropped onto 14th Street, Grace’s boasts dim candlelight, brotherly bartenders, and a leveled grit that leaves you teetering between kicking off a folk song or dragging from a cigarette from a stranger outside.—
Charlie Hobbs,
Condé Nast Traveler,
17 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Procrastinating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/procrastinating. Accessed 21 Mar. 2026.
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