put off
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Verb (transitive):
- To postpone or delay: To arrange for something to happen at a later time than originally planned.
- To discourage or dissuade: To cause someone to lose interest or enthusiasm; to make someone feel dislike or aversion.
- To cause to feel embarrassment or confusion: To make someone feel self-conscious, awkward, or disconcerted.
Usage and Examples
Meaning: To postpone or delay:
- We had to put off the meeting until next week.
- He keeps putting off his visit to the dentist.
Meaning: To discourage or dissuade:
- The high cost put me off buying a new car.
- His rude behavior put off many potential friends.
Meaning: To cause to feel embarrassment or confusion:
- She was put off by his intense stare.
- The sudden question put him off and he forgot his speech.
Advanced Usage
- "to put someone off their stride/stroke": to disturb someone's concentration or rhythm, causing them to perform less effectively.
- The loud noise from the audience put the pianist off her stroke.
Variants and Related Words
- Postpone (verb): To delay an event or appointment to a later time. (A more formal synonym for the "delay" meaning of ).
- Procrastinate (verb): To delay or postpone action, often habitually. (This refers to the person doing the delaying, whereas is the action taken on a task).
Synonyms
- Delay: To cause to be late or slow.
- Defer: To put off to a later time; postpone.
- Deter: To discourage someone from doing something by instilling doubt or fear of the consequences.
Related Phrasal Verbs
- Put off is itself a phrasal verb. Its meanings are distinct from the individual words and .
Related Idioms
- "Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today": A proverb advising against procrastination and encouraging immediate action.
Verb
- avoid or try to avoid fulfilling, answering, or performing (duties, questions, or issues)
- He dodged the issue
- she skirted the problem
- They tend to evade their responsibilities
- he evaded the questions skillfully
- cause to feel embarrassment
- The constant attention of the young man confused her
- take away the enthusiasm of
- cause to feel intense dislike or distaste
- hold back to a later time
- let's postpone the exam