procrastinate

C2+ Topic:Time

US /proʊˈkræstɪˌneɪt/ UK /prəʊˈkræstɪneɪt/ See IPA manual

verb

Meanings

1

verb
to delay or postpone action needlessly

He tends to procrastinate until the deadline is dangerously close.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to delay or postpone action... delay postpone dawdle stall dally temporize defer

Opposites

hasten expedite hurry

Word family

Derived forms procrastinationprocrastinatorprocrastinating

Related forms crastinate

Etymology

From Latin procrastinatus, past participle of procrastinare ('to put off until tomorrow'), from pro- ('forward') + crastinus ('of tomorrow'), from cras ('tomorrow').

procrastinare Latin cras Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Time Word Formation & Derivatives

# procrastinate

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** proʊˈkræstɪˌneɪt
**IPA (UK):** prəʊˈkræstɪneɪt

## Meanings
1. to delay or postpone action needlessly

## Examples
- He tends to procrastinate until the deadline is dangerously close.

## Synonyms
- delay
- postpone
- dawdle
- stall
- dally
- temporize
- defer

## Antonyms
- hasten
- expedite
- hurry

## Derived Forms
- procrastination
- procrastinator
- procrastinating

## Related Forms
- crastinate

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: procrastinare
- Root: cras

## Etymology
From Latin procrastinatus, past participle of procrastinare ('to put off until tomorrow'), from pro- ('forward') + crastinus ('of tomorrow'), from cras ('tomorrow').

## AI Etymology
Procrastinate comes from Latin procrastinatus, past participle of procrastinare ('to put off until tomorrow'), from pro- ('forward') + crastinus ('of tomorrow'), from cras ('tomorrow'). The form is best read as a historical transfer or inheritance, with its older language material carrying the main semantic load. As a verb, it means "to delay or postpone action needlessly", so the modern sense keeps the older action or relation visible. Relevant historical forms include Latin procrastinare and Latin cras. Derivative forms include procrastination, procrastinator, procrastinating; related words include crastinate.

## Topics
- Time
- Word Formation & Derivatives

markdown

procrastinate

Meanings

Thesaurus

Etymology

Topics

Keyboard Shortcuts

General

Send feedback