Temporize
[TEM-pə-riyz]
Part of speech: verb
Origin: French, late 16th century
1.
Avoid making a decision or committing oneself in order to gain time.
2.
Temporarily adopt a particular course in order to conform to the circumstances.
Examples of Temporize in a sentence
"The council intended to temporize the vote until the final member could arrive."
"Kyra decided to temporize her roommate’s walking pace to continue the conversation."
About Temporize
The word temporize developed from the French word “temporiser” (to bide one’s time), the medieval Latin word “temporizare” (to delay), and the Latin word “tempus” (time).
Did you Know?
Many are already familiar with temporize (to avoid making a decision to gain time) by another name: procrastination. Procrastination is delaying or postponing an action to a later time, and is a problem that everyone, whether a student or a working adult, faces at some point. Advice to avoid procrastination varies from breaking work into smaller tasks, to finishing high-priority tasks when they are first received, and completing a task during a set amount of time.
