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

Trump even proposed—then quickly shelved—an exorbitant 20% toll on Hormuz traffic. — Jordan Blum, Fortune, 18 July 2026

California responded in kind, with passage of Proposition 50, a measure that shelved the work of a nonpartisan redistricting commission in favor of a map aimed at handing Democrats five additional seats. — Los Angeles Times, 16 July 2026

For Traces of You, Driscoll had enough distance from the original recordings to see any issues that had caused Ivy to previously shelve the tracks. — Steve Appleford, SPIN, 16 July 2026

And the stakes are as high as preventing one of our most effective technologies for holding and engaging with human intelligence from being shelved as a topic of the past. — Jen Benka, Time, 14 July 2026