temporize
Americanverb (used without object)
-
to be indecisive or evasive to gain time or delay acting.
- Synonyms:
- equivocate, stall, hedge
-
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 bywith ).
-
to come to terms (usually followed bywith ).
-
to effect a compromise (usually followed bybetween ).
verb
-
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
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of temporize
First recorded in 1570–80; from Middle French temporiser “to wait one's time,” from Medieval Latin temporizāre “to put off the time, hang back, delay,” equivalent to Latin tempor- (stem of tempus ) “time” + Late Latin -izāre -ize
Explanation
The verb temporize describes stalling in order to gain time in the hopes of avoiding or preventing something. Your class might temporize so your teacher won't have time to give the pop quiz you all think she's going to give. Accent the first syllable of temporize: "TEM-puh-rise." Tempor- means "time," which you probably recognize from other time-related words such as temporary, temporal, and contemporary. Temporize comes from the Middle French word temporiser, meaning "to pass one's time, wait one's time."
Vocabulary lists containing temporize
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Their Eyes Were Watching God
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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.
See Examples For:
Dahlia Lithwick: There is a very human propensity, especially in times of crisis, to normalize and rationalize and temporize.
From Slate ● Dec. 17, 2025
Rab1, and Black is left to temporize as White methodically prepares his breakthrough.
From Washington Times ● Mar. 1, 2022
The jurors did not temporize or attempt to split hairs.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 20, 2021
Petry’s tendency to temporize may be a crucial asset, according to Hajo Funke, an expert on Germany’s far right who has just published a book, “On Angry Citizens and Arsonists,” about the AfD.
From The New Yorker ● Sep. 26, 2016
She had a vague idea of returning to it by a graceful transition, but one did not suggest itself to her, and she dared temporize no further.
From The Vision of Elijah Berl by Nason, Frank Lewis
In the interim, however, this technology comes to us wrapped in some unprepossessing, temporized designs, like this fat-bellied seal in a plastic waistcoat.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 24, 2025
But whereas the airport example is spatialized and temporized in physically contained senses, internet dwell time is able to insinuate itself into so many other places and moments of everyday life.
From Slate ● Nov. 13, 2019
As the Kerry campaign temporized about whether to ignore the slurs or respond to them, the book reached No. 1 on the Times best-seller list.
From The New Yorker ● Feb. 11, 2019
But Mr. Richardson is right: She has temporized in response to atrocity.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 26, 2018
“Ah just had one,” Janie temporized with her conscience.
From "Their Eyes Were Watching God" by Zora Neale Hurston
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dismissed a key ally from his new Cabinet, bowing to a ruling from the Israeli Supreme Court after days of temporizing.
From Washington Times ● Jan. 22, 2023
Amleth, as he is called, is no student philosopher, temporizing over the nuances of being and nonbeing.
From New York Times ● Apr. 21, 2022
The downside of Ms. Merkel’s flexibility and compromise has been a certain amount of flip-flopping and temporizing.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 25, 2021
US history accordingly reveals a rich tapestry of legal suits, counter suits, interstate conflicts, water theft, treaties, compacts, agreements, accords, lobbying, bullying and temporizing.
From Nature ● Feb. 21, 2017
In such cases there must be no temporizing or reassurance, but a careful determination of the actual condition must be made and immediate operation done if it seems necessary.
From Psychotherapy by Walsh, James J. (James Joseph)
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.
