DELAYS Synonyms: 140 Similar and Opposite Words

delays 1 of 2

noun

plural of delay

as in waits

an instance or period of being prevented from going about one's business there was a delay for our boarding while the airplane unloaded incoming passengers

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

delays

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of delay

as in lingers

to move or act slowly she ordered the kids to stop delaying and to get to bed

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in postpones

to assign to a later time our guests delayed their departure until after dinner

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of delays

Noun

Flight delays, unexpected crises, intense periods of business development, or simply the weight of responsibility can all disrupt a leader’s sleep. — Julian Hayes Ii, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2026 However, delays remain a major challenge as shipyards struggle with capacity, materials, and experienced workers. — Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 28 Aug. 2026 Due to high traffic, the website is experiencing some technical delays. — Michelle Mullins, Chicago Tribune, 28 Aug. 2026 The DeKalb County School District was also notified about possible delays affecting student transportation in the Browns Mill Ferry Road area. — Cbs News Atlanta Digital Team, CBS News, 28 Aug. 2026 The NextGens often had issues with their passenger doors, which caused delays in the early days. — Natalie B. Compton, Washington Post, 28 Aug. 2026 Today, nearly 1 in 5 Americans (18%) have experienced delays or availability issues involving critical prescriptions or medical products, according to a National Institutes of Health report, putting timely access to treatment at risk. — Marc Saltzman, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2026 The game’s release has faced several setbacks including leaks, delays and economic uncertainty. — Tanya Fedak, Variety, 28 Aug. 2026 That includes bringing in physical and cybersecurity assistance for county clerks, mailing ballots earlier to minimize problems from delays, and creating a provision to allow the governor to declare an emergency in case of interference. — Nick Coltrain, Denver Post, 22 Aug. 2026

Verb

So pretending imbalance isn't happening — like when one partner is regularly absorbing all the work and smiling through it — just delays the same resentment that often festers in exchange relationships. — Mark Travers, CNBC, 30 Aug. 2026 That is not only a problem for expanding power grid infrastructure to support growing electricity demand, but also delays the process of replacing aging power transformers. — Jeremy Hsu, ArsTechnica, 24 Aug. 2026 Nearly all report that the process contributes to burnout and delays care. — Richard Menger Md Mpa, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2026 Cellphone use before bed delays the natural drop in cortisol that teenagers need to fall asleep, according to Alice Hoagland, PhD, director of the Insomnia Clinic at the Rochester Regional Sleep Disorder Center. — Samantha Agate, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 Aug. 2026 Brooklyn Village delays There’s been two major delays in the past 10 years. — Desiree Mathurin, Charlotte Observer, 6 Aug. 2026 If a hotel or event venue delays an update, an attacker may exploit that opening and take control. — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 2 Aug. 2026 His isolation is not that of a man locked up in a room but a man who delays going into that room for as long as possible. — Peter Tonguette, The Washington Examiner, 1 Aug. 2026 Along with the tax hike, the agreement settled upon by Newsom and lawmakers last week delays the governor’s plans to cut or freeze Medi-Cal coverage for immigrants without legal status until next summer. — Grant Stringer, Mercury News, 8 July 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for delays

Noun

Another common argument is that single-payer systems are inherently inefficient, as evidenced ostensibly by long waits for treatment suffered by patients in single-payer countries such as Canada.

— Business Columnist, Los Angeles Times, 3 Sep. 2026
The waits have been particularly long in parts of Mississippi and Louisiana, where federal judges have usually taken three months or more to decide whether a detainee should be released.

— Carla Astudillo, ProPublica, 3 Sep. 2026

Definition of waits

Verb

Inside Fort Worth's Cowboy Coliseum, a historic 1908 indoor rodeo venue in the heart of the city's famous Stockyards, the gunpowdery smell of pyrotechnics lingers in the air.

— Christine Lennon, Condé Nast Traveler, 30 Aug. 2026
Sorsby eventually withdrew from college and gave up the fight, but the lawsuit lingers on — triggered by a state court order that had temporarily allowed Sorsby to play despite the NCAA longtime ban of players who gamble.

— ABC News, ABC News, 30 Aug. 2026

Definition of lingers

Verb

The injury postpones any plans to send the 20-year-old out on loan.

— Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 18 Aug. 2026
Or someone managing diabetes who postpones a preventive visit because grocery shopping, prescription pickups, and coordinating multiple specialists compete for limited time and energy.

— Aimée K. Dailey, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2026

Definition of postpones

Verb

Burkhart added that if the trade war drags on, businesses will face far greater risks and consumers — already facing difficulties keeping up with inflation and higher fuel prices — will face a greater challenge with the cost of living.

— Idaho Statesman, Idaho Statesman, 3 Sep. 2026
The move drags romance into spaces once reserved for a workout or a self-care Sunday.

— Ashley Lynch, Sacbee.com, 3 Sep. 2026

Definition of drags

Verb

Hairy-nosed wombat births are hard to spot, as after about a 30-day pregnancy, the joey crawls into its mother’s pouch.

— Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 16 Aug. 2026
Researchers have developed a new control framework that enables humanoid robots to perform agile movements, including army crawls, breakdancing and backflips.

— Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 12 Aug. 2026

Definition of crawls

Verb

Adults’s Gen-Z characters tend to see their comforts as transient, their identities as mutable, and seriousness as an annoying obligation, all of which the second season pokes at a bit.

— Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 27 Aug. 2026
Even in the bathrooms, the toilet and bidet are concealed inside a kind of Travertine bench and the showerhead pokes out from a monolithic stone slab.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 4 Aug. 2026

Definition of pokes

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“Delays.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/delays. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of delays

noun

verb

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