Synonyms of shelve

shelve

verb

ˈshelv 

as in to postpone

to assign to a later time

let's shelve the project for now

Synonyms & Similar Words

• postpone
• delay
• defer
• wait
• suspend
• put over
• remit
• put off
• lay over
• hold over
• hold off (on)
• hesitate
• hold up
• pause
• prolong
• slow
• stay
• lengthen
• extend
• stretch (out)
• retard
• detain
• protract

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• do
• work (on)
• act
• deal (with)
• decide (upon)

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of shelve

Aware of women’s electoral weight, activists sought to leverage that power to seek guarantees that such promises won't later be shelved. — ABC News, 4 Oct. 2026

Moreover, the wall-to-wall negative press that Zaslav generated for shelving a finished movie (which was supposedly well received in test screenings) wasn’t worth the headache, according to studio sources. — Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 4 Oct. 2026

Millions of homes were shelved that otherwise would have been built, had economic conditions been favorable. — The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 2 Oct. 2026

Meta completed one round of layoffs in May (about 8,000 people), then quietly shelved the bigger second wave. — Lydia Zhang, Forbes.com, 1 Oct. 2026