Trending: ‘dilatory’

Dilatory was among our top lookups on January 21st, 2020, after Senator Chuck Schumer averred that the Democrats had no intention of embodying this characteristic in the impeachment hearings.

51 votes are needed for adoption; it is expected that each of the Democrats’ amendments will fall. Schumer claimed they have “no intention” to be dilatory. There are up to two hours of debate on each amendment.

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) January 21, 2020

We define dilatory as either “tending or intended to cause delay" or “characterized by procrastination.” The word came into English in the 15th century, and comes from the Latin differre, meaning “to postpone” or “to differ.” This Latin word also serves as the root for a number of other common English words, including different, defer, and indifferent.

East said he had “no intention to be dilatory,” but simply wanted information on Rodriguez’ views. He said he was simply fulfilling his obligation as a senator, and added that the inquiry was perfectly legitimate.
— Newark Star-Ledger (Newark, NJ), 4 Apr, 1985