temporize

American  

[tem-puh-rahyz] / ˈtɛm pəˌraɪz /

especially British, temporise

verb (used without object)

temporized, temporizing

1. to be indecisive or evasive to gain time or delay acting.

   Synonyms:

   equivocate, stall, hedge

2. to comply with the time or occasion; yield temporarily or ostensibly to prevailing opinion or circumstances.

3. to treat or parley so as to gain time (usually followed bywith ).

4. to come to terms (usually followed bywith ).

5. to effect a compromise (usually followed bybetween ).

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temporize British  

/ ˈtɛmpəˌraɪz /

verb

1. to delay, act evasively, or protract a discussion, negotiation, etc, esp in order to gain time or effect a compromise

2. to adapt oneself to the circumstances or occasion, as by temporary or apparent agreement

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Other Word Forms

• temporization
  noun
• temporizer
  noun
• nontemporizing
  adjective
• nontemporizingly
  adverb
• temporizingly
  adverb

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."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

temporize temporized temporizing

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 universities should not temporize if that happens.

From Washington Post ● Nov. 23, 2017

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

In the difficulty it appeared to him better to temporize.

From Black Diamonds by Jókai, Mór

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

Anthony Kennedy, long the Court’s swing vote, has temporized.

From The New Yorker ● Jun. 19, 2018

But Mr. Richardson is right: She has temporized in response to atrocity.

From Washington Post ● Jan. 26, 2018

He has brooded, hedged, dodged, vacillated, hesitated, temporized, and mulled.

From Slate ● Mar. 21, 2017

“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

So a man called Bellamy — or is it his doppelgänger, Bollany? — accompanies Swan on the piano and serves as his awkward, temporizing major-domo.

From New York Times ● May 2, 2019

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

I think that your husband’s temporizing may be a better strategy than outright refusal.

From Slate ● Oct. 13, 2015

He continually counselled "mutual forbearances and temporizing yieldings on all sides."

From Famous American Statesmen by Bolton, Sarah Knowles