Defer vs Conform - What's the difference?
defer | conform |
To delay or postpone; especially to postpone induction into military service.
* Shakespeare
* {{quote-book
, year=1818
, author=Mary Shelley
, title=Frankenstein
, chapter=3
to delay, to wait
* Milton
(American football) to choose to kick off after winning the opening coin toss.
(legal) To submit to the opinion or desire of another in respect to their judgment or authority.
* Francis Bacon
* 1899 ,
to render, to offer
* Brevint
(intransitive, of persons, often followed by to) To act in accordance with expectations; to behave in the manner of others, especially as a result of social pressure.
* 1822 , , Peveril of the Peak , ch. 1:
* 1839 , , The Voyage of the Beagle , ch. 4:
To be in accordance with a set of specifications or regulations, or with a policy or guideline.
* 1919 , , The Camp Fire Girls Do Their Bit , ch. 11:
* 2006 22 Dec., "
To make similar in form or nature; to make suitable for a purpose; to adapt.
* , "Vanbrugh's House" in The Poems of Jonathan Swift (1910 edition):
* 1836 , , Nature , ch. 6:
In lang=en terms the difference between defer and conform
is that defer is to delay, to wait while conform is to make similar in form or nature; to make suitable for a purpose; to adapt.As verbs the difference between defer and conform
is that defer is to delay or postpone; especially to postpone induction into military service or defer can be (legal) to submit to the opinion or desire of another in respect to their judgment or authority while conform is (intransitive|of persons|often followed by to) to act in accordance with expectations; to behave in the manner of others, especially as a result of social pressure.defer
English
Etymology 1
* From (etyl) differer, from (etyl) .Verb
(deferr)- Defer the spoil of the city until night.
citation, passage=My departure for Ingolstadt, which had been deferred by these events, was now again determined upon.}}
- God will not long defer / To vindicate the glory of his name.
Derived terms
* deferralEtymology 2
* From (etyl)Verb
(deferr)- Hereupon the commissioners deferred the matter to the Earl of Northumberland.
- "Well, I must defer to your judgment. You are captain," he said with marked civility.
- worship deferred to the Virgin
Derived terms
* deferenceAnagrams
* * ----conform
English
Verb
(en verb)- [H]e had a dispensation for conforming in outward observances to the Protestant faith.
- [B]y conforming to the dress and habits of the Gauchos, he has obtained an unbounded popularity in the country.
- In height and breadth it conformed to the prescribed measurements laid down by the rules of the contest.
Judge Cuts Amount of Vioxx Award," New York Times (retrieved 7 June 2011):
- A judge in a Texas widow’s lawsuit over the Merck drug Vioxx reduced a $32 million jury award to about $7.75 million on Thursday so that it conformed to state law.
- There is a worm by Phoebus bred,
- By leaves of mulberry is fed,
- Which unprovided where to dwell,
- Conforms itself to weave a cell.
- The sensual man conforms' thoughts to things; the poet ' conforms things to his thoughts.