This week we continue our vocabulary-building series, “The Closing Word.” Each week we provide a new word to help build your vocabulary and show you an example of how to use it.
This week’s closing word:
temporize
Pronounced: (TEMP-or-eyes)
Verb:
draw out a discussion or process in order to gain time
From Vocabulary.com: “The verb temporize describes stalling in order to gain time in the hopes of avoiding or preventing something. Accent the first syllable of temporize: “TEM-puh-rise.” Tempor- means “time,” which you probably recognize from other time-related words such as temporary, temporal, and contemporary. Temporize comes from the Middle French word temporiser, meaning “to pass one’s time, wait one’s time.”
Example:
“During negotiations the buyer peppered us with so many insignificant concerns we began to suspect he was temporizing, though we didn’t know why.”
