Basic Details
Word: Deferred
Part of Speech: Verb
Meaning: Put off until a later time; postponed.
Synonyms: postponed, delayed, put off, shelved
Antonyms: advanced, hastened
How to Spell Deferred
Syllables: de - ferred
Tricky part: The r doubles before ed because the stress falls on fer. Students write defered with one r, or double the f.
Watch out for: defered, deffered, deferrd
Memory tip: Defer, refer and prefer are stressed on fer, so all three double the r: deferred, referred, preferred.
Usage Examples
Example 1: The meeting was deferred until the principal returned from Delhi.
Example 2: Her college admission was deferred by a year so she could recover.
Example 3: The shop allows deferred payment in three instalments.
Fun Fact
Defer has a second meaning, to accept someone else's opinion out of respect, as in I defer to your judgement; the two senses come from two different Latin verbs, differre and deferre.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
One word in this sentence is misspelt. Find it:
The exam was defered by a week because the school building was needed as a polling booth for the state elections.
a) defered
b) building
c) polling
d) elections
Show answer
a) defered. The stress is on fer, and a stressed final r doubles before ed.
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word deferred as used in the sentence:
The opening of the new flyover was deferred because of the heavy rains.
a) postponed
b) cancelled
c) hurried
d) celebrated
Show answer
a) postponed. Deferred means put off to a later date, and so does postponed; cancelled means it would never happen.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the word in the sentence and choose it:
The bank agreed that the loan payment could be rederfed until June.
a) defended
b) referred
c) differed
d) deferred
Show answer
d) deferred. The jumble has two d's and only two r's: referred needs three r's, differed an i and defended an n.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. If a student's admission is deferred, the student ____.
a) is never allowed in
b) joins at a later date
c) changes schools
d) joins a day early
Show answer
b) joins at a later date
2. Deferred is the past tense of ____.
a) deform
b) defer
c) differ
d) defeat
Show answer
b) defer
