Find English Teachers
jaee
defer / postpone / put off
They have the same meaning.
I'm curious that those words are used in a casual conversation, too.
'put off' is a phrasal verb, so I guess it is commonly used in our daily lives.
Then what about 'defer' and 'postpone'?
'postpone', I've heard that many people use it when we talk to each other in a casual situation, but I've never heard of someone says 'defer.'
Is is okay to say like: I defer the year when I would move to another country.
I don't even know if this example sentence is correct or not.
Thank you so much!
Jul 24, 2020 3:30 PM
Answers · 4
Put off is very informal. Ex. I put off the conversation with my friend because it was difficult.
Postpone is when you delay a scheduled activity for a later date. Ex. The game was postponed due to bad weather.
Defer is used less frequently. Postpone is it’s synonym. It can mean to substitute with an alternative: Ex. I defer the answer to my colleague as she is more experienced in this area. Or... I deferred the date for writing my exam because I was too sick to write it.
July 24, 2020
Still haven’t found your answers?
Write down your questions and let the native speakers help you!
jaee
Language Skills
English, Japanese, Korean
Learning Language
English, Japanese, Korean
Articles You May Also Like

The Power of Storytelling in Business Communication
44 likes · 9 Comments

Back-to-School English: 15 Must-Know Phrases for the Classroom
31 likes · 6 Comments

Ten Tourist towns in Portugal that nobody remembers
59 likes · 23 Comments
More articles