defer

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

US /dɪˈfɜr/ UK /dɪˈfɜː/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

verb
to postpone; or to yield respectfully to another's wishes

The committee chose to defer the decision until next month.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to postpone; or to yield... postpone delay suspend shelve adjourn yield submit bow

Opposites

hasten advance expedite resist oppose

Word family

Derived forms defermentdeferraldeferreddeferringdeferable

Related forms deference deferential differ refer

Simplified etymology

Defer, in the sense “put off,” comes ultimately from Latin differre, which could mean both “defer” and “differ.” It shares this origin with differ and belongs to the wider family based on Latin ferre, “bring” or “carry.”

Etymology

From Latin differre ('to carry apart, postpone'), from dis- ('apart') + ferre ('to carry, bear'). The 'yield respectfully' sense entered via French déférer, from Latin deferre ('to carry down, refer').

differre Latin ferre Middle English *bʰer- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# defer

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /dɪˈfɜr/
**IPA (UK):** /dɪˈfɜː/

## Meanings
1. to postpone; or to yield respectfully to another's wishes

## Examples
- The committee chose to defer the decision until next month.

## Synonyms
- postpone
- delay
- suspend
- shelve
- adjourn
- yield
- submit
- bow

## Antonyms
- hasten
- advance
- expedite
- resist
- oppose

## Derived Forms
- deferment
- deferral
- deferred
- deferring
- deferable

## Related Forms
- deference
- deferential
- differ
- refer

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: differre
- Root: ferre
- Root: *bʰer-

## Etymology
From Latin differre ('to carry apart, postpone'), from dis- ('apart') + ferre ('to carry, bear'). The 'yield respectfully' sense entered via French déférer, from Latin deferre ('to carry down, refer').

## AI Etymology
Defer comes from Latin differre ('to carry apart, postpone'), from dis- ('apart') + ferre ('to carry, bear'). The 'yield respectfully' sense entered via French déférer, from Latin deferre ('to carry down, refer'). The historical trail runs through Latin differre, Latin ferre and Proto-Indo-European *bʰer-. Morphologically, the surface form is analyzable into prefixes, suffixes, compounds, or participial endings that carry part of the history. The later sense follows a semantic development already present in the word's history. In modern use it means to postpone; or to yield respectfully to another's wishes. Derived formations include deferment, deferral, deferred, deferring, deferable; related forms include deference, deferential, differ, refer.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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