procrastinate
To keep putting off something you should do now.
procrastinate in a sentence
- Instead of starting his project, Dev procrastinated by sharpening every pencil twice.
- Don't procrastinate over your packing again, or we will be hunting for your swimming trunks at midnight.
Try an 11+ style question
Verbal reasoning papers often ask about a word like this.
Which word is closest in meaning to procrastinate?
- Abegin
- Bstart
- Cact
- Ddelay
Show the answer
D: delay. The other three mean the opposite of procrastinate.
Which word is most nearly opposite in meaning to procrastinate?
- Astart
- Bdelay
- Cdawdle
- Dstall
Show the answer
A: start. The other three mean nearly the same as procrastinate.
Words that mean something similar
delay, stall, dawdle
Words that mean the opposite
start, begin, act
Careful: procrastinate is not dawdle
Dawdling is doing it slowly. Procrastinating is putting off starting. Read why children mix them up.
More words about time & change
- prolong: To make something last longer.
- promote: To move someone up to a more important position.
- prompt: Quick and without delay.
- prosper: To do well and become successful or rich.
- punctual: Arriving or doing things exactly on time.
- reserve: To keep something back to use later, or to book it for someone.
- restore: To bring something back to how it was before.
- revive: To bring something back to life or strength.
More words to explore
Sitting the 11+ in Kent, Medway or Buckinghamshire?
Plain-English guides to each test, from the councils’ own pages: Kent Test · Medway Test · Bucks Secondary Transfer Test