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Postpone vs Delay - What's the difference?

postpone | delay |

Delay is a synonym of postpone.



As verbs the difference between postpone and delay

is that postpone is to delay or put off an event, appointment etc while delay is to put off until a later time; to defer.

As a noun delay is

a period of time before an event occurs; the act of delaying; procrastination; lingering inactivity.

postpone

English

Verb

(postpon)
  • To delay or put off an event, appointment etc.
  • *, chapter=7
    • , title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=“[…] Churchill, my dear fellow, we have such greedy sharks, and wolves in lamb's clothing. Oh, dear, there's so much to tell you, so many warnings to give you, but all that must be postponed for the moment.”}}

    Synonyms

    * adjourn, defer, delay, forestay, procrastinate, put off, put on ice, stay, suspend

    Antonyms

    * advance * hasten * prepone (India )

    delay

    English

    (wikipedia delay)

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) . More at let (to hinder), late, leave.

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To put off until a later time; to defer.
  • * Bible, (w) xxiv. 48
    • My lord delayeth his coming.
  • To retard; to stop, detain, or hinder, for a time.
  • *
    • , title=(The Celebrity), chapter=10 , passage=Mr. Cooke had had a sloop?yacht built at Far Harbor, the completion of which had been delayed , and which was but just delivered. […] The Maria had a cabin, which was finished in hard wood and yellow plush, and accommodations for keeping things cold.}}
  • (label) To allay; to temper.
  • * (Edmund Spenser) (c.1552–1599)
    • The watery showers delay the raging wind.
    Usage notes
    * This is a catenative verb that takes the gerund (-ing) . See
    Synonyms
    * See also * adjourn * defer * forslow * postpone * put off * put on ice * suspend

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A period of time before an event occurs; the act of delaying; procrastination; lingering inactivity.
    • the delay before the echo of a sound
  • * Bible, Acts xxv. 17
    • Without any delay , on the morrow I sat on the judgment seat.
  • * Macaulay
    • The government ought to be settled without the delay of a day.

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) .

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (obsolete) To dilute, temper.
  • (obsolete) To assuage, quench, allay.
  • * 1590 , (Edmund Spenser), The Faerie Queene , III.12:
    • Those dreadfull flames she also found delayd / And quenched quite like a consumed torch […].

    External links

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