defer 1
— deferrer , n.
/di ferr"/ , v. , deferred, deferring .
v.t.
1. to put off (action, consideration, etc.) to a future time: The decision has been deferred by the board until next week.
2. to exempt temporarily from induction into military service.
v.i.
3. to put off action; delay.
[ 1325-75; ME deferren, var. of differren to DIFFER ]
Syn. 1. DEFER, DELAY, POSTPONE imply keeping something from occurring until a future time. To DEFER is to decide to do something later on: to defer making a payment. To DELAY is sometimes equivalent to DEFER, but usually it is to act in a dilatory manner and thus lay something aside: to delay one's departure. To POSTPONE a thing is to put it off to (usually) some particular time in the future, with the intention of beginning or resuming it then: to postpone an election. 3. procrastinate.
defer 2
/di ferr"/ , v. , deferred, deferring .
v.i.
1. to yield respectfully in judgment or opinion (usually fol. by to ): We all defer to him in these matters.
v.t.
2. to submit for decision; refer: We defer questions of this kind to the president.
[ 1400-50; late ME deferren deferre to carry from or down, report, accuse, equiv. to de- DE- + ferre to BEAR 1 ]
Syn. 1. accede, submit, acquiesce, capitulate.