Word of the Day - 01/04/26
dilatory
/'dɪlə,toʊri/(adj.): wasting time
His dilatory habits in the mornings always made him late for work, effectively wasting time.
Word Origin
The word 'dilatory' originates from the Latin word 'dilatorius', meaning 'delaying'. This comes from 'dilator', meaning 'a delayer', which is derived from the Latin verb 'differre', meaning 'to delay, defer, or put off'. The Latin verb 'differre' is composed of 'dis-' (meaning 'apart' or 'away') and 'ferre' (meaning 'to carry' or 'to bear').
Sunday Special
As a reminder, here are all of the words from this week:
astute
mojibake
auld lang syne
adumbrate phlegmatic conflagration
dilatory
adumbrate phlegmatic conflagration
dilatory
See if you can remember all of this week's words! Here is a sentence that includes all seven, followed by a version that simplifies them to help you remember:
An astute observer could adumbrate disaster when the phlegmatic crowd, waiting through a dilatory countdown, saw auld lang syne rendered in mojibake just before the fireworks ignited a conflagration.A sharp observer could sense trouble when the calm crowd, stuck waiting through a slow countdown, saw auld lang syne appear as garbled text just before the fireworks set off a fire.