Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Showing results for cunctation. Search instead for cunctations.
Synonyms

cunctation

American  
[kuhngk-tey-shuhn] / kʌŋkˈteɪ ʃən /

noun

Archaic.

  1. lateness; delay.

cunctation British  
/ kʌŋkˈteɪʃən, ˈkʌŋktətɪv /

noun

  1. rare delay

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • cunctatious adjective
  • cunctative adjective
  • cunctator noun
  • cunctatory adjective

Etymology

Origin of cunctation

First recorded in 1575–85; from Latin cunctātiōn- (stem of cunctātiō ) “delay,” equivalent to cunctāt(us) (past participle of cunctārī “to delay”) + -iōn- noun suffix; -ion

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.

Strive not to run, like Hercules, a furlong in a breath: festination may prove precipitation; deliberating delay may be wise cunctation, and slowness no slothfulness.

From Library of the World's Best Literature, Ancient and Modern — Volume 6 by Mabie, Hamilton Wright

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.