dilatory

adjective

dil·​a·​to·​ry ˈdi-lə-ˌtȯr-ē How to pronounce dilatory (audio)
1
: tending or intended to cause delay
dilatory tactics
2
: characterized by procrastination : tardy
dilatory in paying bills
dilatorily adverb
dilatoriness noun

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When should you use dilatory?

“Slow down, you move too fast / You got to make the morning last / Just kicking down the cobblestones / Looking for fun and feelin'…” dilatory? We can’t say Paul Simon was wrong to choose groovy to end that verse of “The 59th Street Bridge Song” but dilatory would have also made sense. You see, if procrastination is your style, dilatory is the word for you. It’s been describing things that cause delay since at least the 15th century, and its ancestors were hanging around with similar meanings long before that. The word's source is dilatus, a form of the multifaceted Latin verb differre, meaning "to carry away in varying directions, spread abroad, postpone, delay, be unlike or distinct." That verb is also an ancestor of the words different, differ, and defer—a fact we think is pretty groovy.

Examples of dilatory in a Sentence

the homeowner is claiming that local firefighters were dilatory in responding to the call
Recent Examples on the Web At the Washington Department of Ecology, the state’s primary Hanford watchdog, people have had to stretch their imaginations to accommodate Hanford’s dilatory progress, said Cheryl Whalen, the agency’s cleanup section manager. Valerie Brown, Discover Magazine, 28 Sep. 2018 He can’t be blamed for the agency’s dilatory response to problems at the plant. The Editorial Board, WSJ, 25 May 2022 Members of Congress from both parties are raising tough questions about this dilatory pace. William A. Galston, WSJ, 24 May 2022 Cleage’s dilatory method, unfortunately, nudges her to find melodramatic solutions to the stasis. Los Angeles Times, 14 Apr. 2022 And some parents-to-be, either superstitious or simply dilatory, hesitate to purchase baby items far in advance. New York Times, 29 Dec. 2021 What makes this dilatory pace unfathomable is that Democrats know the disastrous implications of the loss of a single Senate seat in the midst of a legislative battle. Walter Shapiro, The New Republic, 27 Oct. 2021 Near the end of the meeting on Tuesday, Allard stopped testimony by raising a point of information and asking a series of procedural questions, a move LaFrance said was dilatory. Emily Goodykoontz, Anchorage Daily News, 7 Oct. 2021 Many less attractive traits are also recorded: Charles could be uncommunicative and dilatory, evasive and mendacious, refractory, vindictive, obstinate, even outright wicked, though self-delusive about the motives of others. R.j.w. Evans, The New York Review of Books, 11 June 2020

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dilatory.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French dilatorie, Late Latin dilatorius, from Latin differre (past participle dilatus) to postpone, differ — more at differ, tolerate

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of dilatory was in the 15th century

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Dictionary Entries Near dilatory

Cite this Entry

“Dilatory.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dilatory. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

dilatory

adjective
dil·​a·​to·​ry ˈdil-ə-ˌtōr-ē How to pronounce dilatory (audio)
-ˌtȯr-
1
: tending or intended to cause delay
dilatory tactics
2
: tending to be late : tardy
dilatory in paying her bills
dilatorily adverb
dilatoriness noun

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