demur
Americanverb (used without object)
noun
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the act of making objection.
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an objection raised.
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Law: Obsolete. a demurrer.
verb
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to raise objections or show reluctance; object
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law to raise an objection by entering a demurrer
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archaic to hesitate; delay
noun
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the act of demurring
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an objection raised
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archaic hesitation
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has demurredperfect 3rd person singular
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have demurredperfect
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is demurringprogressive 3rd person singular
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has been demurringperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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are demurringprogressive
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demurssingular 3rd person
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have been demurringperfect progressive
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demurringparticiple
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am demurringprogressive 1st person singular
Past
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had demurredperfect
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was demurringprogressive singular
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demurredparticiple
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were demurringprogressive plural
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demurredsimple
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had been demurringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of demur
1175–1225; Middle English demuren < Anglo-French demurer, Old French demorer < Latin dēmorārī to linger, equivalent to dē- de- + morārī to delay, derivative of mora delay
Explanation
If your mother asks you to clean your room and you refuse, you demur. And if your friend invites you to the Death Metal Forever concert but you hesitate, you demur. Whether you object, politely disagree, or hesitate, you demur. If Aunt Tilly offers to knit you a sweater, you might politely demur, being reluctant to accept. When she describes the bunnies she plans for the sweater, you would want to strongly demur, explaining that you are moving to Texas next week and will no longer need sweaters. And if you find yourself the defendant in a civil suit, you might file a demurrer, objecting to the plaintiff’s complaint. When you file that demurrer, you also demur.
Vocabulary lists containing demur
To Kill a Mockingbird
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Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)
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30 GRE Words Beginning with "D"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Assent — and you are sane — Demur — you’re straightaway dangerous — And handled with a Chain —
From New York Times • Jul. 23, 2018
Demur, de-mur′, v.i. to hesitate from uncertainty or before difficulty: to object:—pr.p. demur′ring; pa.p. demurred′.—n. a stop: pause, hesitation.—adj.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D) by Various
Hei mihi! quam timeo, ne nos malus implicet error, Demur et infandis gentibus opprobrio!
From Christianity and Islam in Spain (756-1031) by Haines, Charles Reginald
He was fain, however, to make some Demur, and to Complain, in his usual piteous manner, of being so amerced.
From The Strange Adventures of Captain Dangerous, Vol. 2 Who was a sailor, a soldier, a merchant, a spy, a slave among the moors... by Sala, George Augustus
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
