as in stalled
formal
to avoid making a decision or giving a definite answer in order to have more time
Pressured by voters on both sides of the issue, the congressmen temporized.
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Recent Examples of temporized
Assad lied and temporized, the official said.
—
Robert F. Worth, The Atlantic, 6 Feb. 2026
Robert F. Worth, The Atlantic, 6 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for temporized
Verb
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Quin Snyder’s Towns wrinkle stalled the Knicks briefly, then stopped working.—
C.J. Holmes,
New York Daily News,
29 Apr. 2026
-
But by March, the fight seemed to have stalled out.—
Kerry Sheridan,
NPR,
28 Apr. 2026
Verb
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In California, the Los Angeles County Counsel is probing allegations that State Farm delayed, underpaid and denied valid insurance claims from last year's wildfires.—
Michael Copley,
NPR,
28 Apr. 2026
-
Altman was buried after a private funeral on March 31, after a public service was delayed when his widow went into labor with their daughter.—
Sara Tenenbaum,
CBS News,
28 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Over a lifetime, filmmaker Lynne Sachs has collected business cards—mementos of brief exchanges with strangers—and selects seven to uncover why these moments have lingered so vividly in her memory.—
Matthew Carey,
Deadline,
6 May 2026
-
The girls, buzzed on miniature cans of soda, lingered in the liminal space between rolling credits and parental pickup.—
Anna Wiener,
New Yorker,
4 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Temporized.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/temporized. Accessed 11 May. 2026.
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