procrastination
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of procrastination
First recorded in 1540–50; from Latin prōcrāstinātiōn-, stem of prōcrāstinātiō “a putting off until tomorrow,” equivalent to prōcrāstināt(us), past participle of prōcrāstināre “to put off until tomorrow” + -iō -ion ( def. ); see procrastinate ( def. )
Explanation
Procrastination is putting off or deferring an action (usually one we don't want to do) until a later time (usually the last minute). Activities that inspire procrastination include work, chores, studying, or anything else we don't feel like doing right now. Activities we choose in our procrastination include surfing the Internet, watching television, reorganizing our pencils, talking on the phone, or sleeping. Great synonyms for this word include dilly-dallying and shillyshally.
Vocabulary lists containing procrastination
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CTE Construction ("Core Curriculum: Introductory Craft Skills,") Vocabulary from Module One
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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.
Like many others, the couple struggled with the three big downsizing obstacles: overwhelmingness, avoidance and procrastination.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026
"Every basis point of artificial yield suppression is a subsidy to procrastination," he said.
From Barron's ● Sep. 9, 2026
Other studies of students have concluded that reliance on LLMs is associated with procrastination, memory loss and diminished academic performance.
From Salon ● Jun. 10, 2026
Defaults work because they harness people’s inertia, procrastination and tendency to stick with the path of least resistance, instead of requiring them to make active and often complex decisions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 18, 2025
John Quincy’s network of European sources also urged enlightened procrastination.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
