as in waits
an instance or period of being prevented from going about one's business
there was a delay for our boarding while the airplane unloaded incoming passengers
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in lingers
to move or act slowly
she ordered the kids to stop delaying and to get to bed
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in postpones
to assign to a later time
our guests delayed their departure until after dinner
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of delays
Chicago Tribune,
5 July 2026
Standing on the National Mall in the afternoon, before storm delays and fireworks, Donald Rasdall and Betsy Green peered at the history around them.
—
Karissa Waddick,
USA Today,
5 July 2026
Final-round tee times were also moved up to avoid possible delays.
—
ABC News,
4 July 2026
If the court approves the settlement and no delays follow, payments would come later.
—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
4 July 2026
That has meant ground stops at Washington Reagan International Airport and delays at Washington Dulles International Airport.
—
Ted Johnson,
Deadline,
4 July 2026
The launch came after multiple weather delays, as well as a software issue that aborted a Thursday launch attempt and was fixed with an update.
—
Ashley Strickland,
CNN Money,
3 July 2026
Travel delays expected during July 4 week Rail authorities have warned of the potential for delays through the weekend.
—
Sam Meredith,
CNBC,
3 July 2026
Be punctual for shore excursions and activities to avoid delays or missing out without a refund.
—
Jill Schildhouse,
Southern Living,
27 June 2026
Jennifer Van Grove,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
1 July 2026
The deal also delays the elimination of dental help for undocumented adults a year later than Newsom proposed.
—
Stephen Hobbs,
Sacbee.com,
27 June 2026
Extending careers delays workforce loss but does not address long-term demographic trends or the inevitability of workforce transition.
—
Sk Gupta,
Forbes.com,
25 June 2026
The deal delays highly technical discussions over the mechanics of unwinding Iran’s nuclear program.
—
Los Angeles Times,
18 June 2026
Lowe said that the government’s statutory inquiry risks becoming another long process that delays accountability, comparing it to other British scandals where official reckoning came only years later.
—
Efrat Lachter,
FOXNews.com,
17 June 2026
In the face of such uncertainty, this treaty – applying the precautionary approach – delays the start of commercial fishing until governments have adequate information to manage fishing sustainably.
—
David Balton,
The Conversation,
15 June 2026
Likewise, if a player deliberately delays a throw-in, the opposing team could be given the throw-in instead.
—
Russell Lewis,
NPR,
12 June 2026
This can make conversations feel heavier, delays more frustrating and feedback harder to digest.
—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
9 June 2026
Noun
Sarah Buck, Chicago Driving has become harder The rapid increase in bike lanes has made driving much more difficult and tedious, with numerous delays due to many streets being reduced to one lane in busy areas.
—
Chicago Tribune,
5 July 2026
Standing on the National Mall in the afternoon, before storm delays and fireworks, Donald Rasdall and Betsy Green peered at the history around them.
—
Karissa Waddick,
USA Today,
5 July 2026
Final-round tee times were also moved up to avoid possible delays.
—
ABC News,
4 July 2026
If the court approves the settlement and no delays follow, payments would come later.
—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
4 July 2026
That has meant ground stops at Washington Reagan International Airport and delays at Washington Dulles International Airport.
—
Ted Johnson,
Deadline,
4 July 2026
The launch came after multiple weather delays, as well as a software issue that aborted a Thursday launch attempt and was fixed with an update.
—
Ashley Strickland,
CNN Money,
3 July 2026
Travel delays expected during July 4 week Rail authorities have warned of the potential for delays through the weekend.
—
Sam Meredith,
CNBC,
3 July 2026
Be punctual for shore excursions and activities to avoid delays or missing out without a refund.
—
Jill Schildhouse,
Southern Living,
27 June 2026
Verb
As such, Propco must reapply for permits before resuming construction, which delays the project’s completion until the middle of 2027, according to the documents.
—
Jennifer Van Grove,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
1 July 2026
The deal also delays the elimination of dental help for undocumented adults a year later than Newsom proposed.
—
Stephen Hobbs,
Sacbee.com,
27 June 2026
Extending careers delays workforce loss but does not address long-term demographic trends or the inevitability of workforce transition.
—
Sk Gupta,
Forbes.com,
25 June 2026
The deal delays highly technical discussions over the mechanics of unwinding Iran’s nuclear program.
—
Los Angeles Times,
18 June 2026
Lowe said that the government’s statutory inquiry risks becoming another long process that delays accountability, comparing it to other British scandals where official reckoning came only years later.
—
Efrat Lachter,
FOXNews.com,
17 June 2026
In the face of such uncertainty, this treaty – applying the precautionary approach – delays the start of commercial fishing until governments have adequate information to manage fishing sustainably.
—
David Balton,
The Conversation,
15 June 2026
Likewise, if a player deliberately delays a throw-in, the opposing team could be given the throw-in instead.
—
Russell Lewis,
NPR,
12 June 2026
This can make conversations feel heavier, delays more frustrating and feedback harder to digest.
—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
9 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for delays
Noun
-
Healthcare providers are always a reliable resource for patients, but many Medicare beneficiaries face long waits for appointments with doctors.
-
Powell said China has such operations lined up and planned well in advance and waits for such triggering events.
Verb
-
The math turns against you the moment a balance lingers, though.
-
The sisters have reportedly made efforts to remain active within the royal family, but a sense of distance lingers.
Verb
-
The Defense secretary said the ceasefire postpones the deadline for securing such approval.
-
This is equally true of society, and disregarding this truth only postpones the moment of reckoning.
Verb
-
Stanford research on more than 100,000 developers found that teams often feel quicker with AI early on, while at the same time racking up technical debt that drags on them later.
-
Frieson then appears, drags her by the arm, and closes the door.
Verb
-
The agreement defers many of the hardest questions — including how to wind down Iran’s nuclear program — until the 60-day negotiation period for a final deal.
-
Blocking protected time for asset building is essential, as busy work often defers this crucial development.
Verb
-
Seltz’s system crawls hundreds of millions of pages a day, and returns results in under 200 milliseconds.
-
At sunset, the city starts glowing around you while traffic crawls silently below.
Verb
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The second is a vent which pokes out above your clothes, to move warm air away from you.
-
Perched on a finger of land that pokes into Lebanon, Metula is usually crowded with tourists this time of year.
Verb
-
While the number of IPOs that have been priced so far this year lags behind the year-ago period, the number of companies that have filed to go public is up, according to Renaissance Capital.
-
While there is a growing number of zero-emissions heavy-duty vehicles, including both battery EVs and hydrogen fuel cell EVs, adoption lags behind light-duty passenger vehicles.
Cite this Entry
“Delays.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/delays. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.
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