defer
gb/dɪfˈɚ/ us/dɪfˈɚ/
B2
Anglais
~ 8100
Sens
0 sens
Verbe
formal
B2
action
1
postpone to a later time
to move something to a later time and not do it now
Schéma d’usage :
to defer [something] (until/to [a time])
Erreur fréquente :
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').
Synonymes
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'.)
Antonymes
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.)
Collocations
defer payment
|defer a decision
|defer action
|defer admission
|defer enrollment
|defer the vote
Thèmes
business
|law
|time
|core_vocabulary
Exemples
- 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.
Exemples pédagogiques
- 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.
Verbe
formal
C1
action
2
yield to another's judgment
to let another person decide or lead because you respect them
Schéma d’usage :
to defer to [someone/something]
Erreur fréquente :
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.
Synonymes
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.)
Antonymes
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.)
Collocations
defer to authority
|defer to [someone's] expertise
|defer to the wishes of [someone]
|defer to the court
|defer to local customs
Thèmes
politeness
|work
|law
|relationships
|communication
|core_vocabulary
Exemples
- 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.
Exemples pédagogiques
- 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.
Grammaire
Forme canonique
defer
API
GB/dɪfˈɚ/
US/dɪfˈɚ/
Syllabes et accentuation
de - fer (2 syllabes)
Stress on 2nd syllable (fer)
Formes du mot
Verb
- Base: defer
- 3rd Person Singular: defers
- Present Participle: deferring
- Past: deferred
Famille de mots
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
Points clés
- Irregular present participle: deferring Verb
- Irregular past: deferred Verb
Expressions
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
Exemples
- 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.