Synonyms of delay
34 similar words
Another word for delay is postpone. Other synonyms of delay are defer, procrastinate and impede.
Synonyms and similar words for delay
nounA period of time before an event occurs; the act of delaying; procrastination; lingering inactivity.
- cunctationDelay, hesitation, procrastination.
nounSynonym of promise (“object representing delayed result”).
verbTo put off until a later time; to defer.
- adjourn
- deferTo delay or postpone.
- postponeTo delay or put off an event, appointment, etc.
- put offTo delay (a task, event, etc.).
- put on ice
- suspend
- waive
- wait informalTo delay movement or action until some event or time; to remain neglected or in readiness.
- forslow obsoleteTo delay; hinder; impede; obstruct.
- penelopize rareTo create a delay by undoing what has previously been done, sometimes possibly with the intention of redoing it and...
verbTo retard; to temporarily stop, detain, or hinder.
- belateTo impede; cause something to be late; delay; benight.
verbTo wait, hesitate, tarry.
- procrastinateTo delay taking action; to wait until later.
verbTo allay; to temper.
nounMore synonyms
- hold-upA delay or wait.
- deferment
- detainTo keep something from proceeding or coming to completion; to delay.
- hinderThe buttocks.
- hesitanceThe act or state of hesitating.
- hesitancyA pausing or halting before beginning a task, often as a result of some fear or uncertainty about the outcome.
- hesitation
- holdoffA delay or forbearance.
- postponementA delay, as a formal delay in a proceeding.
- respiteThe delay of appearance at court granted to a jury beyond the proper term.
- retardA retardation; a delay.
- dilation obsoleteDelay.
- prorogation archaic
Meaning of delay
- noun A period of time before an event occurs; the act of delaying; procrastination; lingering inactivity.
- noun An audio effects unit that introduces a controlled delay.
- noun Synonym of promise (“object representing delayed result”).
delay in other languages
Questions about synonyms of delay
- What is another word for delay?
- Delay has 34 synonyms on Word.ws, such as postpone, defer, procrastinate and impede.
- What does delay mean?
- Delay means a period of time before an event occurs; the act of delaying; procrastination; lingering inactivity.
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: delay (page history and authors) and the entries of the words listed. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws grouped the synonyms and antonyms by meaning and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this page: “Synonyms of delay.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/synonyms/delay. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.