defer
gb/dɪfˈɚ/ us/dɪfˈɚ/
B2
Inglés
~ 8100
Acepciones
0 acepciones
Verbo
formal
B2
action
1
postpone to a later time
to move something to a later time and not do it now
Patrón de uso:
to defer [something] (until/to [a time])
Error frecuente:
Learners often confuse 'defer' with the more common verb 'delay' or 'postpone'. 'Defer' is correct but more formal and is typical in business, legal, or official contexts. Another common mistake is spelling confusion with 'differ' (which means 'to be different').
Sinónimos
postpone (Very close in meaning; more common and neutral in tone.)
|
delay (Often suggests an unwanted or problematic slowing down.)
|
put off (Informal phrasal verb used in everyday speech instead of the more formal 'defer'.)
Antónimos
advance (To move something to an earlier time, the opposite of postponing it.)
|
bring forward (To reschedule something for an earlier time rather than a later one.)
Colocaciones
defer payment
|defer a decision
|defer action
|defer admission
|defer enrollment
|defer the vote
Temas
business
|law
|time
|core_vocabulary
Ejemplos
- The committee decided to defer the vote until next week.
- Due to budget cuts, the company will defer payment of bonuses until next year.
- They chose to defer a final decision until more data was available.
- Students can request to defer their admission for one year.
- We agreed to defer action on the proposal until after the audit.
Ejemplos para estudiantes
- The manager will defer the meeting until Friday.
- Because of the storm, they had to defer the game.
- You can defer your loan payments for six months.
- Let’s defer this discussion until tomorrow.
- She wants to defer her trip until she saves more money.
Verbo
formal
C1
action
2
yield to another's judgment
to let another person decide or lead because you respect them
Patrón de uso:
to defer to [someone/something]
Error frecuente:
Learners often forget the preposition 'to' and say *'defer someone'* instead of 'defer to someone'. Some also confuse this sense with the 'postpone' meaning, but 'defer to' always involves people or authorities, not time.
Sinónimos
yield to (Focuses on giving way to another person or force; slightly less formal than 'defer to'.)
|
bow to (Often suggests reluctant or pressured agreement, whereas 'defer to' can be respectful and willing.)
|
respect (Broader; does not always imply following someone's decision, while 'defer to' means accepting it.)
Antónimos
resist (To refuse to go along with someone's wishes or authority.)
|
defy (To openly refuse to obey or accept another’s authority or decision.)
|
overrule (To reject another person’s decision and replace it with your own.)
Colocaciones
defer to authority
|defer to [someone's] expertise
|defer to the wishes of [someone]
|defer to the court
|defer to local customs
Temas
politeness
|work
|law
|relationships
|communication
|core_vocabulary
Ejemplos
- On technical questions, I defer to our engineering team.
- The court will defer to the legislature on this policy matter.
- We should defer to local customs when visiting another country.
- I’ll defer to your judgment on which candidate to hire.
- The board chose to defer to the CEO’s recommendation.
Ejemplos para estudiantes
- On this issue, I defer to you.
- He always defers to his doctor’s advice.
- We should defer to the expert in the room.
- When in doubt, they defer to company policy.
- The judge may defer to the jury’s decision.
Gramática
Forma de diccionario
defer
AFI
GB/dɪfˈɚ/
US/dɪfˈɚ/
Sílabas y acento
de - fer (2 sílabas)
Stress on 2nd syllable (fer)
Formas de la palabra
Verb
- Base: defer
- 3rd Person Singular: defers
- Present Participle: deferring
- Past: deferred
Familia de palabras
Forms
defers
verb
deferring
verb
deferred
verb
Core family
deferral
noun
deferment
noun
Related words
deference
noun C1
deferential
adjective
Advanced or less common
deferentially
adverb
deferable
adjective
Aspectos destacados
- Irregular present participle: deferring Verb
- Irregular past: deferred Verb
Expresiones
defer to
1/dɪfˈɚ tə/
phrasal verb
formal
accept another’s judgment or wishes
to let another person decide or lead because you trust or respect them
Ejemplos
- If the data are unclear, we usually defer to the senior analyst.
- When it comes to legal questions, I defer to our lawyer.
- We should defer to local experts on how to handle this situation.