Lexic.us

Definition of Put off

1. Verb. Hold back to a later time. "Let's postpone the exam"

2. Verb. Cause to feel intense dislike or distaste. "The performance is likely to put off Sue"

3. Verb. Take away the enthusiasm of. "The performance is likely to put off Sue"

4. Verb. Cause to feel embarrassment. "The bad news will put off him"; "The constant attention of the young man confused her"

5. Verb. Avoid or try to avoid fulfilling, answering, or performing (duties, questions, or issues). "He evaded the questions skillfully"

Definition of Put off

1. Verb. (transitive) To procrastinate ¹

2. Verb. (transitive) to delay (a task, event, or deadline) ¹

3. Verb. (transitive) to offend, repulse, or frighten ¹

4. Adjective. offended, repulsed ¹

5. Adjective. daunted or fazed ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Lexicographical Neighbors of Put Off

put food on the table put forth put forward put hair on someone's chest put heads together put horns on put in put in motion put in place put in practice

put in with put into effect put into practice put it there put lipstick on a pig put off put on put on airs put on the block put on the dog

put on the line put on the map put on weight put one's affairs in order put one's back into put one's best foot forward put one's cards on the table put one's feet up

Literary usage of Put off

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Two Years Before the Mast: A Personal Narrative by Richard Henry Dana (1911)
"... and was floating^out of the harbor, when two horsemen came dashing down to the beach at full speed, and tried to find a boat to put off after her; ..."

2. Commentaries on the Laws of England by Herbert Broom, Edward Alfred Hadley, William Wait, William Blackstone (1875)
""Whosoever shall tender, utter, or put off any false or counterfeit coin resembling or apparently intended to resemble or pass for any of the queen's ..."

3. South Eastern Reporter by West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals, West Publishing Company, South Carolina Supreme Court (1919)
""A. After I was put off the train, of course, the train started up, and I let the coach pass me that I had just gotten off, and there was a young gentleman ..."

4. The Encyclopedia Americana: A Library of Universal Knowledge (1918)
"... of building a Catholic church in Philadelphia the project was for a time put off until there was a definite settlement of the dispute then pending, ..."

5. Correspondence of William Pitt by William Pitt, William Stanhope Taylor, John Henry Pringle (1840)
"bills that are now before the House; but there is another American bill which will serve Lord Chatham's purpose, and that they will put off on his account ..."

6. Reports of Cases Argued and Determined in the Court of King's Bench: With by Great Britain Court of King's Bench, Edward Hyde East, George Mifflin Wharton (1845)
"The rule was therefore made absolute to put off the trial of the cause of Burde't v. Colman until after the argument of the demurrers in the cause of ..."

Other Resources: