What does postponed mean?
Postponed means that something has been delayed or moved to a later time. It is commonly used with events such as meetings, ceremonies, journeys, games, and decisions: a match may be postponed because of bad weather, while a government may postpone a decision while it gathers more information. As the past tense and past participle of the verb postpone, it also describes the act of putting something off. The word has a formal, practical tone and often suggests that an earlier plan will be followed later, although the new date may not yet be certain. Compared with delayed, postponed places greater emphasis on a planned event being moved; compared with cancelled, it implies postponement rather than abandonment. In everyday use, the phrase “postponed until further notice” communicates that no firm replacement time has been set.
Delayed or moved to a later time.
"The postponed concert will now take place at the community hall."
Commonly used before nouns referring to planned events or actions, such as meeting, match, ceremony, or decision.
The past tense and past participle of postpone, meaning to put something off until a later time.
"They postponed their departure because the road was closed."
Uses the regular inflection of postpone; it is often followed by a time expression or an indirect object.
Postponed comes from Latin postponere, literally “to place after,” turning a simple plan into something placed on a later shelf.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does postponed come from?
Postponed derives from the Latin postponere, formed from post- meaning “after” and ponere, meaning “to place or put.” The verb came to mean “to place something after,” and by extension “to defer or delay until a later time.” English borrowed the word in the 16th century in the sense of postponing an action or event. Its relatives include postpone and postponement, while more distant cognates involving Latin ponere include component and preposition.
Related word forms
How postponed is actually used
The word is formal but widely understood. It commonly describes events, decisions, meetings, journeys, and plans that have been moved to a later time.
Easily confused with postponed
Postponed means moved to a later time, whereas prolonged means extended to last longer.