Simone
英语词汇
表示“延迟”“延缓”的动词
嘉中
postpone、put off、delay、hold up、defer、detain 这些动词都可以表示“延迟”、
“推迟”、“延缓”、“延期”的意思。
postpone 指将 做某事开始的时间向后“延迟”、“推迟 ”， 多指主观有意的延迟 。其后
接名词或 接动名词作宾语。
例句：
Something urgent has come up. Could I postpone our appointment?
出了急事，我俩的约会能不能延期?
After further review, my boss decided to postpone the merger.
经过进一步的考虑, 我的老板决定推迟合并计划。
Did you get the message the meeting has been postponed ?
你得没得到通知说会议已经推后了？
I was really angry when she asked me to postpone my trip to help her move house.
当她让我推迟旅行帮她搬家时，我真的很生气。
——————
We've had to postpone going to France because the children are ill. （接动名词）
因为孩子们生病了，我们不得不延后去法国的行程。
I shall postpone making a decision till I learn full particulars.
在未获悉详情之前我得从缓作出决定。
They always look for excuses to postpone doing something.
他们总是找藉口拖延做事。
put off 口语用语，用法相当于 postpone， 两者常可以替换。其后 接名词或接动名词作
宾语 。
例句：
Don't put off till tomorrow what should be done today.
今日事今日毕。
I'm afraid that we’ll have to put off our wedding till the Spring Festival.
恐怕咱俩的婚事要推迟到春天举办。
But because of my wife's health, they had to put off the departure from day to day.
——————
She keeps putting off going to the dentist. （接动名词）
她老是拖延着不去看牙病.
He tends to put off doing their homework until the last minute.
他往往拖延到最后才做作业。
I have to put off going to Europe till next month since I can’t be away this month.
这个月我离不开，去欧洲的事只能推迟到下个月。
delay 多指 外界客观原因引起的“推迟”或“耽误” 。其后 接名词或接动名词作宾语 。
例句：
The blizzard forced them to delay their summit bid.
暴风雪迫使他们推迟登顶。
If the project to be completed by the end of the month is delayed , the construction
company will be fined.
如果月底凌工的工程被拖迟，建筑公司将被罚款。
If you find problems early and get treatment, you can delay or prevent the loss of vision.
若你及早地发现了问题并接受治疗，那么就能延迟或预防失明的发生。
Unless an agreement can be reached with creditors to pay or delay the debt, the
company could default.
除非能与债权人就偿还或延期偿还这笔债务达成一项协议，否则该公司可能会违约。
____________
I am afraid that you will have to delay going on vacation until next month.
恐怕你将不得不推迟到下个月去度假。
I think we should delay deciding about this until next year.
我认为我們应该等到明年再決定这件事。
They had delayed having children, for the usual reason, to establish their careers.
为了建立自己的事业，他们推迟了要孩子的时间。
held up 用法相当于 delay， 两者常可以替换。
例句：
I am sorry for being late because I was held up by heavy traffic.
对不起我来晚了，因为我被堵车给耽搁了。
The train he took was held up for over 2 hours.
他乘坐的火车晚点了两个多小时。
I'm afraid that the problem could hold up progress towards reform.
恐怕这一问题会阻碍改革的进展。
defer 指 由于某种原因必须推迟进行某事 。也可 故意拖延 ，语气强于postpone。
例句：
This matter must be finished as quickly as possible, so you’d better defer your
departure for a week.
这件事必须尽快完成，所以你最好推迟一个星期离开。
We wish to defer our decision until next week.
我们希望推迟到下星期再作出决定。
Some customers often defer payment for as long as possible.
有些顾客常常会尽可能地拖延付款。
————
They decided to defer taking action until a more appreciate time. （接动名词）
他们决定推迟采取行动，直到一个更合适的时间。
When you defer designing decisions, you're reserving your option to change.
当您推迟设计决定时，你是在保留对更改的选择。
detain 指由于某种原因使某人 滞留 ， 走不了而耽搁、延迟 。
例句：
The heavy traffic detained us for half an hour.
拥挤的交通使我们耽搁了半个小时。
The matter is not very important and should not detain us very long.
这个问题不是很重要，不会延误我们很长时间。
She was detained in the office by unexpected callers.
有些临时访客把她耽搁在办公室里了。
I'm sorry for being late. I was detained by an urgent business in the company.
很抱歉我迟到了，我公司的被紧急业务耽搁了。
