procrastinate

American  

[proh-kras-tuh-neyt, pruh-] / proʊˈkræs təˌneɪt, prə- /

verb (used without object)

procrastinates, present (3rd person singular) procrastinated, past participle, past procrastinating present participle

1. to defer action; delay.

   to procrastinate until an opportunity is lost.

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verb (used with object)

procrastinates, present (3rd person singular) procrastinated, past participle, past procrastinating present participle

1. to put off till another day or time; defer; delay.

   Synonyms:

   postpone, prolong

procrastinate British  

/ prə-, prəʊˈkræstɪˌneɪt /

verb

1. (usually intr) to put off or defer (an action) until a later time; delay

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• overprocrastination
  noun
• procrastination
  noun
• procrastinativeness
  noun
• procrastinator
  noun
• procrastinative
  adjective
• procrastinatory
  adjective
• unprocrastinated
  adjective
• procrastinatingly
  adverb
• procrastinatively
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• procrastinating
  present
• procrastinated
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• procrastinate
  simple
• procrastinates
  simple
• have procrastinated
  perfect
• has procrastinated
  perfect
• am procrastinating
  progressive
• are procrastinating
  progressive
• is procrastinating
  progressive
• have been procrastinating
  perfect progressive
• has been procrastinating
  perfect progressive

Past

• procrastinated
  simple
• had procrastinated
  perfect
• was procrastinating
  progressive
• were procrastinating
  progressive
• had been procrastinating
  perfect progressive

Future

• will procrastinate
  simple
• will have procrastinated
  perfect
• will be procrastinating
  progressive
• will have been procrastinating
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of procrastinate

First recorded in 1580–90; from Latin prōcrāstinātus, past participle of prōcrāstināre “to put off until tomorrow,” from prō- pro- ¹ + -crāstināre, derivative of crāstinus “of tomorrow” (from crās “tomorrow” + -tinus, adjective suffix)

Explanation

Procrastinate means to put off doing something until a future time. When people sit down to write term papers, they can find all kinds of clever ways to procrastinate: reorganizing the paperclips, calling everyone they know, typing "I am bored" fifty times in a row. The verb procrastinate is from Latin prōcrāstināre, from prō- "forward" plus crāstinus "of tomorrow," from crās "tomorrow." Some synonyms are defer, postpone, and delay, though these words often apply to more positive reasons for inaction. The reason for procrastination is often assumed to be laziness, or just that the task or action is unpleasant and difficult to begin.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

procrastinate procrastinates procrastinated procrastinating

Anxiety paralysis is real, and people who procrastinate often are not lazy, but instead suffer from this all-too-common malady.

From MarketWatch ● May 18, 2026

And one of the big success stories for defaults is the automatic enrolment in pension schemes, because many of us procrastinate saving for retirement.

From BBC ● Jan. 28, 2026

They might procrastinate, struggle to finish projects or seem unable to manage basic tasks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 23, 2026

"We can't wait, we can't procrastinate," he said, adding that Gazans across the territory were living in an "inhumane situation".

From Barron's ● Jan. 15, 2026

There are those who procrastinate and have to hurry toward the end.

From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman

I think he procrastinates because he either doesn’t want to run errands for his 93-year-old mother or else he needs to pick up his mail.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 6, 2026

She quickly regrets this, and can’t really handle the scope of the project, so she procrastinates for the entire semester.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 16, 2022

The musical eavesdrops on a choreographer as she procrastinates over a sad task in her garden and warily ponders the glamour and fuss of a lifetime achievement award.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2021

As he put it: “Everybody procrastinates, but not everyone is a procrastinator.”

From Washington Post ● Jul. 9, 2021

When I do, he procrastinates or tells me to ask my grandmother.

From "The Freedom Writers Diary" by The Freedom Writers

"The police and crime commissioner prevaricated, procrastinated, refused to get rid of Mr Guildford when it was quite clear that that was the only route possible," Silverman said.

From BBC ● Jan. 19, 2026

It’s one thing to study and write about later life; it’s quite another to live it and see things I wish I had done differently or, in particular, hadn’t procrastinated about.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 22, 2025

In 2022, 17 years after the Rolling Stones released their most recent album of original songs, Mick Jagger decided the band had dithered and procrastinated long enough.

From New York Times ● Sep. 14, 2023

Likewise, I also procrastinated on the consolidation of two Roth IRA accounts and the rollover of a retirement-savings account from an old side gig.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 17, 2021

I had procrastinated for over a week in writing the paper, and it was due on Monday.

From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman

But MacRae says procrastinating can, at times, be a good thing - some problems solve themselves, without us rushing to act.

From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026

Nevertheless, many keep procrastinating right up until the six-month extension ends on Oct.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 8, 2026

It’s a dreaded task when I’m already caught up running other errands — or simply procrastinating.

From Salon ● May 30, 2026

“Say you’ve got donations in the back of your car and you keep procrastinating in dropping those off,” said AAA’s Diaz, “get that extra weight out of your vehicle.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 14, 2026

“As you can see, that leaves almost no time for brooding, lagging, plodding, or procrastinating, and if we stopped to think or laugh, we’d never get nothing done.”

From "The Phantom Tollbooth" by Norton Juster

Related Words

• dawdle
• hesitate