temporizing

verb

present participle of temporize
as in stalling
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.

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for temporizing
  1. stalling
  2. delaying
  3. lingering
Verb
  • Their replacements arrived three weeks late because of capsule repairs, stalling this crew’s homecoming.
    — Marcia Dunn, Chicago Tribune, 8 Oct. 2026
  • The memoir also details Cooper’s crippling, career-stalling struggles with substance abuse during the late ‘70s and goes into depth about his subsequent re-embrace of Christianity and his current beliefs and practices.
    — Gary Graff, Billboard, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of stalling
Verb
  • The daughter, Shannon Amos, faults her brother, Kelly Christopher Amos, for delaying medical care while isolating the actor from his family and friends in the years leading up to his death.
    — Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 16 Oct. 2026
  • More and more parents are delaying vaccines and citing logistics, outsourcing the decision to the parent who isn’t in the room or simply wanting more time.
    — CNN Money, CNN Money, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of delaying
Verb
  • While Beverly Hills and West Hollywood bounced back after the pandemic, Santa Monica continues to struggle with retail vacancies and lingering economic woes.
    — Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 11 Oct. 2026
  • The rich tomato sauce brought plenty of flavor, the Italian sausage added a savory bite and the Calabrian peppers gave the dish a lingering heat without overwhelming everything else.
    — Evan Moore, Charlotte Observer, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of lingering
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

temporizes
temporizing
temps
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Temporizing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/temporizing. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

The Words of the Week - Oct. 16
See More

Popular

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All