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procrastinate

[proh-kras-tuh-neyt, pruh-]
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verb (used without object), pro·cras·ti·nat·ed, pro·cras·ti·nat·ing.
  1. to defer action; delay: to procrastinate until an opportunity is lost.
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verb (used with object), pro·cras·ti·nat·ed, pro·cras·ti·nat·ing.
  1. to put off till another day or time; defer; delay.
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Origin of procrastinate

1580–90; < Latin prōcrāstinātus (past participle of prōcrāstināre to put off until tomorrow, equivalent to prō- pro-1 + -crāstināre, derivative of crāstinus of tomorrow; crās tomorrow + -tinus suffix forming adjectives from temporal adverbs); see -ate1
Related formspro·cras·ti·nat·ing·ly, pro·cras·ti·na·tive·ly, adverbpro·cras·ti·na·tion, nounpro·cras·ti·na·tive, pro·cras·ti·na·to·ry [proh-kras-tuh-nuh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee, pruh-] /proʊˈkræs tə nəˌtɔr i, -ˌtoʊr i, prə-/, adjectivepro·cras·ti·na·tive·ness, nounpro·cras·ti·na·tor, nouno·ver·pro·cras·ti·na·tion, nounun·pro·cras·ti·nat·ed, adjective

Synonyms

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2. prolong, postpone.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

pokestragglerlagslowpokeloaferidlerloitererlaggerdawdlerloungertarrier

Examples from the Web for procrastinator

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • The procrastinator admits, for instance, that a piece of work must be done.

    Practical Ethics

    William DeWitt Hyde

  • The procrastinator is the veriest drudge—he has his nose to the grindstone all the time.

    Nuggets of the New Thought

    William Walker Atkinson,

  • He may have been a procrastinator in everything else, but as a writer he was a skilled mechanic.

  • Then, to prevent the procrastinator from backing up, the salesman reached for the telephone on the advertiser's desk.

    Certain Success

    Norval A. Hawkins

  • The procrastinator queries, "Cannot American man-power meet the demand?"

    Mobilizing Woman-Power

    Harriot Stanton Blatch

British Dictionary definitions for procrastinator

procrastinate

verb
  1. (usually intr) to put off or defer (an action) until a later time; delay
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Derived Formsprocrastination, nounprocrastinator, noun

Word Origin

C16: from Latin prōcrāstināre to postpone until tomorrow, from pro- 1 + crās tomorrow
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

Word Origin and History for procrastinator

n.

c.1600, agent noun in Latin form from procrastinate (v.).

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procrastinate

v.

1580s, a back formation from procrastination or else from Latin procrastinatus, past participle of procrastinare "to put off till tomorrow; defer, delay" (see procrastination). Related: Procrastinated; procrastinating. Earlier verb was procrastine (1540s), from French.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper