Defer

To postpone or delay something; or to yield to someone else's judgment or authority.

verb

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Imagine This

Imagine a student at a deadline who closes a door labeled 'Next Week' and says, 'I will defer this decision until I have more information.' Later, in a team meeting, the student defers to the mentor's judgment, stepping back and letting the mentor decide.

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Sounds Like

dee-FUR

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Looks Like

Looks like 'refer' with the prefix de-; visually it is de- + fer (to bear).

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Remember This

Defer has two main meanings: (1) to postpone or delay something, (2) to yield to someone else's judgment or authority (as in defer to an expert). The common noun forms are deferral and deferment.

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Other Forms

deferralnoun

deferralmentnoun

defermentnoun

deferredadjective

deferrableadjective

deferringverb

defersverb

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Connect With

delay, postpone, yield, deference, deference to authority

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Note

Use defer with a direct object (defer a decision, defer payment). When you say 'deferral' or 'deferrment/deferral,' you refer to the act of postponing. When you say 'defer to someone,' you mean yield to their opinion or authority. Do not confuse with 'refer' (to mention or direct) or 'offer' (to present).

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Study Deeper

Examples

The committee decided to defer the project until the next quarter.
She asked to defer her enrollment for one year.

Synonyms

postponedelayput offsuspendadjourn

Antonyms

hastenexpediteadvance

Etymology

From Latin differre 'to carry away, scatter; postpone', from dis- 'apart' + ferre 'to bear'. The sense of postponing comes from carrying the action into a later time.

Mnemonic

Delay Every Future Engagement; Defer to Authority: Let Experts Render decisions.