区别辨析delay、postpone、defer、suspend、prolong与put off

这些动词或短语动词均有“推延,延期”之意。

delay : 普通用词,多指因外界原因推迟或耽误,也可指有意推迟。

  • My plane was delayed by an hour.
    我乘坐的飞机延误了1个小时。
  • Heavy snow delayed the start of the game.
    大雪迫使比赛延迟开始。
  • I think we should delay deciding about this until next year.
    我认为我们应该等到明年再决定这件事。

postpone : 正式用词,语气较强,多指有安排的延期,常指明延期到一定的时间。

  • They decided to postpone their holiday until next year.
    他们决定将假期推迟到来年。
  • We've had to postpone going to France because the children are ill.
    因为孩子们生病了,我们不得不推迟去法国的行程。

defer : 正式用词,语气强于postpone,多指故意拖延。

  • My bank has agreed to defer the repayments on my loan.
    银行同意让我延缓偿还贷款。
  • Can we defer making a decision until next week?
    我们可以推迟到下周再决定吗?

suspend : 指暂时中断以待某种条件的实现。

  • The introduction of the new system has been suspended until next year.
    新制度推迟到明年再行实施。
  • to suspend judgement (= delay forming or expressing an opinion)
    暂不判断

prolong : 指把时间延长至超过正常或通常的限度。

  • We were having such a good time that we decided to prolong our stay by another week.
    我们过得非常愉快,决定再多呆一个星期。
  • She chewed each delicious mouthful as slowly as she could, prolonging the pleasure.
    她细嚼慢咽,尽情地享受每一口美味食品。

put off : 口语用词,与postpone同义,但较通俗。

  • The meeting has been put off for a week.
    会议被推迟了1周。
  • I can't put off going to the dentist any longer.
    我不能再拖着不去看牙医了。