Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Causing or intended to cause delay.
- adjective Characterized by or given to delay or slowness: synonym: slow.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun In law, a plea or other proceeding in a suit which is intended to delay the suit without reference to its merits.
- Marked by or given to procrastination or delay; slow; tardy; not prompt: as, dilatory measures; a dilatory messenger.
- Intended to bring about delay, or to gain time and defer decision: as, a dilatory motion.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective Inclined to defer or put off what ought to be done at once; given the procrastination; delaying; procrastinating; loitering.
- adjective Marked by procrastination or delay; tardy; slow; sluggish; -- said of actions or measures.
- adjective (Law) a plea designed to create delay in the trial of a cause, generally founded upon some matter not connected with the merits of the case.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective Intentionally
delaying (someone or something), intended to cause delay,gain time, ordefer decision. - adjective
Slow ortardy .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective wasting time
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
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Examples
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There is a questionable sort of beginning, which might be called dilatory, that consists in carrying the literary aspect of the essential facts to the extreme, and making them occupy a deal more valuable space than is rightly theirs.
Short Story Writing A Practical Treatise on the Art of The Short Story Charles Raymond Barrett
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The Senate, by precedent, has ruled such quorum calls dilatory, after cloture.
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Democrats accused them of using "dilatory" tactics, but the Bushmen plodded on.
Al At The Brink 2008
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So it isn't obvious that he broke the law (on balance it seems not), in which case your rather ranting passage (terms such as dilatory, cavalier disregard, blatant disregard all appeared) seems somewhat tendentious and a bit overcooked.
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Gingrich branded the amendment strategy "dilatory" about the nicest thing he said about Democrats.
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With a view of allowing Jake time to "cover his tracks" he resorted to "dilatory" measures.
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Smashing through the young Scotsman's media trained response, Snow went through the timetable the PSNI's "dilatory" response remorselessly.
Slugger O'Toole 2009
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Smashing through the young Scotsman's media trained response, Snow went through the timetable the PSNI's "dilatory" response remorselessly.
Slugger O'Toole 2009
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Lashed out at the team prosecuting him for drunk driving, calling them "unco-operative" and their trial "dilatory";
IOL: News 2009
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By precedent, the Senate could make such quorum calls dilatory at any time, if no substantive business had intervened since a quorum had been previously established. www):
billyvonraven commented on the word dilatory
It seems whenever I look up a word, honestly without knowing its meaning, it strikingly describes exactly what I have been experiencing that very day. Today, for example, I am putting off work by looking up words on Wordnik...the first word that popped into my head...dilatory, of course.
March 27, 2012
ruzuzu commented on the word dilatory
I'm forever mixing this up with the word depilatory.
September 12, 2012
uttarnikhil commented on the word dilatory
adj. Intended to delay.
adj. Tending to postpone or delay: dilatory in his work habits. See Synonyms at slow.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
adj. Intentionally delaying (someone or something), intended to cause delay, gain time, or defer decision.
adj. Slow or tardy.
September 7, 2013