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

The sixth edition of Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival was due to take place from December 3 to 12 but has been shelved this year. — Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 15 Oct. 2026

Lenders pull back, firms at the heart of the boom cut costs or close, bankruptcies pick up, building projects are shelved. — Ruchir Sharma, Foreign Affairs, 13 Oct. 2026

However, the dreamy collaboration could be shelved or possibly land on Eminem’s new album. — Michael Saponara, Billboard, 13 Oct. 2026

Meanwhile, Neon has set Luca Guadagnino‘s Artificial for a December release after the film, starring Andrew Garfield as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, was shelved by Amazon earlier this year. — Ryan Gajewski, HollywoodReporter, 12 Oct. 2026