retardment
Definition
- Noun:
- The act of delaying or the state of being delayed: "retardment" refers to the process or condition of making something slower or later than expected.
- A hindrance or obstacle: It can also mean something that causes a delay or impedes progress.
Usage Examples
- (The delay of the project was caused by financial problems.)
- (Traffic slowed down our arrival.)
Advanced Usage
"to suffer retardment": to experience a delay or slowing.
- The construction suffered retardment because of bad weather. (The building work was delayed by poor weather conditions.)
"without retardment": without any delay.
- The package was delivered without retardment. (The package arrived on time.)
Variants and Related Words
Retard (verb): to cause to be slower or to delay.
- The cold weather retarded the growth of the plants. (The cold slowed down plant growth.)
Retardation (noun): the act or process of delaying; often used in scientific or technical contexts.
- Mental retardation is a condition of delayed intellectual development. (A medical term for slower cognitive development.)
Synonyms
- Delay: the act of postponing or slowing.
- Slowing: the process of becoming less fast.
- Hindrance: something that obstructs progress.
Related Idioms
"to put a damper on": to cause a delay or reduction in enthusiasm.
- The rain put a damper on our picnic plans. (The rain delayed or spoiled our picnic.)
"to hold up": to cause a delay.
- The accident held up traffic for hours. (The accident delayed traffic.)
Phrasal Verbs
Hold up: to cause a delay.
- The meeting was held up by a technical problem. (The meeting was delayed.)
Set back: to delay progress.
- The storm set back the construction by two weeks. (The storm delayed the construction.)
Note
"Retardment" is less common than "retardation" or "delay" in modern English. It is primarily used in formal or technical writing, such as in engineering, logistics, or medical contexts.