Synonyms and antonyms of To delay action, wait or hesitate in British Thesaurus

delay (verb)

to do something later than is planned or expected

wait (verb)

to delay doing something until someone arrives or until something else happens

hesitate (verb)

to pause before doing something, or to do something very slowly, usually because you are nervous, embarrassed, or worried

put off ()

to delay doing something, especially because you do not want to do it

hold off ()

to deliberately delay doing something

sit on ()

to delay dealing with something

procrastinate (verb)

to delay doing something until later, usually something that you do not want to do

temporize (verb)

formal to delay doing something in order to gain time

prevaricate (verb)

formal to avoid saying or doing something because you want to cause a delay or hide the truth

play for time ()

to deliberately delay doing something, or to do it more slowly than usual, so that you have more time to decide what to do

await (verb)

formal to wait for something that you expect to happen

await (verb)

formal to wait for something that is the next stage in a process

be in no hurry ()

to be able to wait to do something, because you have plenty of time

bide your time ()

to wait in a patient way for an opportunity to do something

circle (verb)

if people are circling, they are watching a situation and waiting for an opportunity to get something they want

cool your heels ()

to have to wait for something, especially when this is annoying and boring

count down ()

to wait for something to happen, usually noticing every day or moment that passes until it happens

count the days/hours/minutes etc ()

to wait for something that you want very much to happen

expect (verb)

to be waiting for someone or something to arrive

falter (verb)

to stop doing something because you have lost your confidence or determination

forbear (verb)

formal to stop yourself from doing or saying something, especially in a way that shows that you are polite or patient

gain time ()

to get more time for yourself in order to do something or while you wait for something to happen

hang around ()

to spend time in a place waiting or doing nothing

hang/hold fire ()

to wait before you take action

hang on (spoken)

spoken to wait or be patient

hold on ()

to wait

hunker down (American)

American to wait for a difficult situation to end

kick your heels ()

to waste time waiting for someone or something

kill (verb)

to spend time doing a particular activity while you are waiting for something

let the dust settle ()

to allow a situation to become calm or normal again after something exciting or unusual has happened

loiter (verb)

to stand or wait in a public place for no particular reason

lurk (verb)

to wait, sometimes hiding, in order to frighten, annoy, or attack someone

mark time ()

to do nothing, or to make no progress, because you are waiting for something to happen

on/to one side ()

if you put something to one side, you do not talk about it or deal with it now

pace yourself ()

to avoid doing something too quickly or doing too much at one time, so that you have enough energy left to complete an activity

play a/the waiting game ()

to delay in a situation where people expect you to do something, because you think this will give you an advantage

pussyfoot (verb)

informal to avoid saying or doing anything definite because you are nervous and do not know what to do

see how it goes/things go ()

used for saying that a decision about a situation will be made after allowing it to develop for a period of time

shilly-shally (verb)

informal to delay too long before making a decision

skulk (verb)

to move around or to wait somewhere in a secret way, especially because you are going to do something bad

take a rain check (on something) (mainly American)

mainly American used for saying that you are not going to accept an offer or suggestion immediately, but you may accept it later

temporise ()

a British spelling of temporize

twiddle your thumbs ()

to do nothing and feel impatient because you are waiting for something to happen

wait (verb)

to be hoping or expecting that something will happen

wait around ()

to do nothing because you are expecting something to happen, and you cannot do anything until it does

wait on ()

to wait for a particular thing to happen

wait your turn ()

to wait in a patient way for your opportunity to have or to do something