temporize

[tem-puh-rahyz]

See more synonyms for temporize on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object), tem·po·rized, tem·po·riz·ing.

to be indecisive or evasive to gain time or delay acting.
to comply with the time or occasion; yield temporarily or ostensibly to prevailing opinion or circumstances.
to treat or parley so as to gain time (usually followed by with).

to come to terms (usually followed by with).
to effect a compromise (usually followed by between).

Also especially British, tem·po·rise.

Origin of temporize

1570–80; < Medieval Latin temporizāre to hang back, delay, equivalent to Latin tempor- (stem of tempus) time + Medieval Latin -izāre -ize

Related formstem·po·ri·za·tion, nountem·po·riz·er, nountem·po·riz·ing·ly, adverbnon·tem·po·riz·ing, adjectivenon·tem·po·riz·ing·ly, adverb

Can be confusedtemporalize temporize

Synonyms for temporize

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1. hedge, stall, equivocate.

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

Related Words for temporize

hesitate, balk, equivocate, procrastinate, delay, stall, hedge

Examples from the Web for temporize

Historical Examples of temporize

She was anxious to temporize, for she did not see how to answer her appeal.
Weighed and Wanting
George MacDonald
They might temporize with their own consciences, but not with public opinion.
Mary Wollstonecraft
Elizabeth Robins Pennell
It is hard to temporize when confronted with a businesslike silence.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 147, August 19th, 1914
Various
She tried to temporize, but the more she eluded him the more insistent he became.
The Strange Case of Mortimer Fenley
Louis Tracy
Thus Blake tried to temporize, so that he might think what was best to do.
The Moving Picture Boys on the Coast
Victor Appleton

British Dictionary definitions for temporize

temporize

temporise

verb (intr)

to delay, act evasively, or protract a discussion, negotiation, etc, esp in order to gain time or effect a compromise
to adapt oneself to the circumstances or occasion, as by temporary or apparent agreement

Derived Formstemporization or temporisation, nountemporizer or temporiser, noun

Word Origin for temporize

C16: from French temporiser, from Medieval Latin temporizāre, from Latin tempus time

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 temporize

1550s (implied in temporizer), from Middle French temporiser "to pass one's time, wait one's time" (14c.), from Medieval Latin temporizare "pass time," perhaps via Vulgar Latin *temporare "to delay," from Latin tempus (genitive temporis) "time" (see temporal). Related: Temporized; temporizing.