delay | Definition of delay

delay

verb

Synonyms and Antonyms of delay

1 to move or act slowly

she ordered the kids to stop delaying and to get to bed

Synonyms of delay

crawl, creep, dally, dawdle, diddle, dillydally, drag, lag, linger, loiter, lollygag (also lallygag), mope, poke, shilly-shally, tarry

Words Related to delay

fiddle (around), fool around, mess around, monkey (around), play, potter (around), putter (around), trifle

hang (around or out), idle, loaf, loll, lounge

amble, ease, inch, lumber, plod, saunter, shuffle, stagger, stroll

decelerate, slow (down or up)

filibuster, procrastinate, stall, temporize

Phrases Synonymous with delay

drag one's feet (also drag one's heels), drop behind, fall behind, hang fire, mark time, take one's time

Near Antonyms of delay

bowl, breeze, dart, hump, hurtle, hustle, scramble, stampede

gallop, jog, run, sprint, trot

accelerate, quicken, speed (up)

catch up, fast-forward, outpace, outrun, outstrip, overtake

Antonyms of delay

barrel, bolt, career, course, dash, fly, hasten, hotfoot (it), hurry, race, rip, rocket, run, rush, scoot, scud, scurry, speed, tear, whirl, whisk, whiz (or whizz), zip

2 to assign to a later time

our guests delayed their departure until after dinner

Synonyms of delay

defer, hold off (on), hold over, hold up, lay over, postpone, put off, put over, remit, shelve

Words Related to delay

hesitate, pause, stay

detain, retard, slow

extend, lengthen, prolong, protract, stretch (out)

Near Antonyms of delay

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