defer

Questions about defer

What is another word for defer?

It depends which defer you mean. In the sense “hold back to a later time”, the synonyms are postpone, prorogue, hold over, put over, table, shelve, set back, remit, put off. Across all 2 senses there are 13 distinct synonyms, and they are not interchangeable with each other — this page lists them under the sense each one belongs to.

What is the opposite of defer?

WordNet records no antonym for defer. Antonymy in WordNet is a relation between specific word forms rather than between concepts, so it is recorded only where lexicographers judged the pairing direct. An absence here means none was recorded, not that none can be imagined.

Why are the synonyms for defer split into groups?

Because defer carries 2 recorded senses and each has its own set of substitutes. A single flat list would put words from unrelated meanings side by side with nothing to tell them apart, which is exactly how a writer picks the wrong one. The grouping comes from WordNet's synsets, not from an editorial judgement of ours.

Where do the synonyms for defer come from?

From Princeton University's WordNet, a lexical database maintained by lexicographers since 1985. A synonym here means a word form that shares a synset with this word — a set of forms interchangeable in one recorded context. Nothing on this page is generated by a language model.

Other views of defer

• Full entry for deferAll 2 senses, with examples, usage labels, syllables and pronunciation.
• Rhymes for deferWords matching from the last stressed vowel onward, grouped by syllable count.
• Thesaurus homeHow WordNet synsets work, and the collections built for synonym work.