postponement
Americannoun
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the act of putting something off to a later time; deferral.
Taking your sick or injured pet to the veterinarian should be prompt, as any postponement can lead to ongoing medical issues.
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the act of placing a thing below something else in importance or after something else in sequence (now used most often in grammar).
Historically, inheritance laws tended toward a postponement of the claims of female kin to those of male kin.
In English, the end position in a sentence is normally reserved for the key point, so postponement of an element is a way of emphasizing it.
Other Word Forms
- nonpostponement noun
- self-postponement noun
Etymology
Origin of postponement
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.
He revealed “productive” talks with Iran and the postponement of strikes on power plants for five days, and within minutes Dow futures surged more than 1,000 points and oil prices plunged 10%.
From Barron's • Mar. 24, 2026
Second-placed Lens currently trail leaders PSG by one point - and Lens head coach Pierre Sage said after Sunday's 5-1 win over Angers that his side did not agree with a postponement.
From BBC • Mar. 24, 2026
Danny Russel, a former senior U.S. diplomat and vice president at the Asia Society Policy Institute, said Beijing viewed “the sudden, last-minute postponement as disrespectful.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 19, 2026
The company, backed by Blackstone, aimed to raise $762 million at a $5.5 billion valuation before the postponement.
From Barron's • Feb. 6, 2026
At the time, Qevinger was so upset by the incident that Yossarian did not dare tell him he had also been responsible for the epidemic of diarrhea that had caused the other unnecessary postponement.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
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.
