Definition of Put off

1. Verb. Hold back to a later time. "Let's postpone the exam"


2. Verb. Cause to feel intense dislike or distaste. "The performance is likely to put off Sue"
Exact synonyms: Turn Off
Generic synonyms: Repel, Repulse
Derivative terms: Turnoff

3. Verb. Take away the enthusiasm of. "The performance is likely to put off Sue"
Exact synonyms: Dishearten
Generic synonyms: Discourage
Derivative terms: Disheartenment, Disheartenment
Antonyms: Hearten

4. Verb. Cause to feel embarrassment. "The bad news will put off him"; "The constant attention of the young man confused her"
Exact synonyms: Confuse, Disconcert, Flurry
Related verbs: Bedevil, Befuddle, Confound, Confuse, Discombobulate, Fox, Fuddle, Throw
Specialized synonyms: Fluster, Bother, Deflect, Distract
Generic synonyms: Abash, Embarrass
Derivative terms: Confusion, Disconcertion, Disconcertment

5. Verb. Avoid or try to avoid fulfilling, answering, or performing (duties, questions, or issues). "He evaded the questions skillfully"
Exact synonyms: Circumvent, Dodge, Duck, Elude, Evade, Fudge, Hedge, Parry, Sidestep, Skirt
Specialized synonyms: Beg, Quibble
Generic synonyms: Avoid
Derivative terms: Circumvention, Dodge, Dodger, Dodging, Dodging, Evasion, Hedge, Hedger, Hedging

Definition of Put off

1. Verb. (transitive) To procrastinate ¹

2. Verb. (transitive) to delay (a task, event, or deadline) ¹

3. Verb. (transitive) to offend, repulse, or frighten ¹

4. Adjective. offended, repulsed ¹

5. Adjective. daunted or fazed ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Lexicographical Neighbors of Put Off

put food on the table
put forth
put forward
put hair on someone's chest
put heads together
put horns on
put in
put in motion
put in place
put in practice
put in with
put into effect
put into practice
put it there
put lipstick on a pig
put off
put on
put on airs
put on the block
put on the dog
put on the line
put on the map
put on weight
put one's affairs in order
put one's back into
put one's best foot forward
put one's cards on the table
put one's feet up

Literary usage of Put off

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Two Years Before the Mast: A Personal Narrative by Richard Henry Dana (1911)
"... and was floating^out of the harbor, when two horsemen came dashing down to the beach at full speed, and tried to find a boat to put off after her; ..."

2. Commentaries on the Laws of England by Herbert Broom, Edward Alfred Hadley, William Wait, William Blackstone (1875)
""Whosoever shall tender, utter, or put off any false or counterfeit coin resembling or apparently intended to resemble or pass for any of the queen's ..."

3. South Eastern Reporter by West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals, West Publishing Company, South Carolina Supreme Court (1919)
""A. After I was put off the train, of course, the train started up, and I let the coach pass me that I had just gotten off, and there was a young gentleman ..."

4. The Encyclopedia Americana: A Library of Universal Knowledge (1918)
"... of building a Catholic church in Philadelphia the project was for a time put off until there was a definite settlement of the dispute then pending, ..."

5. Correspondence of William Pitt by William Pitt, William Stanhope Taylor, John Henry Pringle (1840)
"bills that are now before the House; but there is another American bill which will serve Lord Chatham's purpose, and that they will put off on his account ..."

6. Reports of Cases Argued and Determined in the Court of King's Bench: With by Great Britain Court of King's Bench, Edward Hyde East, George Mifflin Wharton (1845)
"The rule was therefore made absolute to put off the trial of the cause of Burde't v. Colman until after the argument of the demurrers in the cause of ..."

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