delayed

USAGE SUMMARY

'delayed' is a perfectly correct and usable word in written English.
You can use it to describe when something has been postponed or held back in arriving or starting, for example: "Due to unforeseen circumstances, the project's launch has been delayed."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Formal & Business

Science

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

60 human-written examples

Scheduled to make the 1,492km 9277 miles) journey every day except Christmas Day, the A320 plane has seen passengers delayed for as little as two minutes and as long as 12 hours and 18 minutes.

The Guardian - Money

The federal appeals court in Atlanta ordered that the execution should be delayed for at least 30 days, while a Georgia court of appeals imposed its own stay to give the courts more time to consider the propriety of the single lethal injection as a method of killing.

The Guardian

Mayhem!!" Precious tweeted: "Complete chaos at Clapham Junction this morning as trains are delayed left, right and centre.

The Guardian

Related: World Health Organisation 'intentionally delayed declaring Ebola emergency' As of 18 March, the death toll from Ebola in west Africa was 10,251, with one new case on Friday in Liberia breaking the country's 42-day countdown to Ebola-free status.

The Guardian

Does he know anyone who has delayed going to the doctor or chosen not to because of concerns about how much it will cost?

The Guardian

The pre-Christmas Mandelson crisis and the fight over the Euro-elections bill delayed the announcement, Mr Ashdown concedes.

The Guardian

The SNP appeared to be the party in disarray throughout the day, as Salmond repeatedly delayed a press conference at the first minister's official residence at Bute House.

The Guardian

There are only 110 beds in Freetown for Ebola patients and with the disease out of control in the capital, with almost 1,000 cases already confirmed, it is vital the unit's opening is not delayed.

The Guardian

Network Rail said: "We apologise to passengers whose journeys have been delayed this morning as a result of a track circuit defect just outside the Haywards Heath area.

The Guardian

But he also seemed to confirm that the broadcast had been delayed.

The Guardian

"Platoons would need to transmit their status to the intersection and the signal change would need to be advanced or delayed to treat the platoon as a single long vehicle," said Alan Stevens, chief scientist and research director at transport firm TRL.

The Guardian - Tech

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When using "delayed", clarify the reason for the delay to provide context and manage expectations. For instance, "The flight was delayed due to inclement weather."

Common error

Avoid using "delayed" in overly passive constructions without specifying what caused the delay. Instead of saying "The decision was delayed", clarify with "The decision was delayed by the committee review process".

Linguistic Context

Delayed functions primarily as the past participle form of the verb "delay". It describes something that has been postponed or held back. Ludwig shows examples in diverse contexts, aligning with its verbal nature and grammatical correctness, confirming its adjectival role as a descriptive modifier.

Expression frequency: Very common

Frequent in

News & Media

47%

Formal & Business

25%

Science

28%

Less common in

Academia

0%

Encyclopedias

0%

Social Media

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

The term "delayed" functions as the past participle of the verb 'delay' and is used to describe something that has been postponed. Ludwig AI confirms its grammatical correctness and shows its frequent usage across various contexts, particularly in News & Media, Formal & Business, and Science. It carries a neutral register and its primary purpose is to inform about a postponement. When using "delayed", it's best practice to specify the reason for the delay to provide context. Alternatives include ""postponed"", ""held up"", and "deferred", each offering slightly different connotations.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

postponed

Direct synonym, indicating a later scheduling.

deferred

Formally postponed to a future time.

held up

Suggests something is preventing progress.

hindered

Slowed down or made difficult.

retarded

Indicates slowed or hindered progress.

stalled

Brought to a standstill.

impeded

Blocked or obstructed from progress.

protracted

Extended in time; lengthened.

tabled

Postponed indefinitely or until a later time.

shelved

Put aside for future consideration.

FAQs

How to use "delayed" in a sentence?

You can use "delayed" to indicate something has been postponed. For example, "The project was "postponed" due to unforeseen circumstances" or "The train was "held up" by a signal failure".

What can I say instead of "delayed"?

You can use alternatives like ""postponed"", ""held up"", or "deferred" depending on the context.

Which is correct, "delayed" or "postponed"?

"Delayed" and ""postponed"" are often interchangeable, but "delayed" suggests something is temporarily held back, while ""postponed"" indicates a more formal rescheduling.

What's the difference between "delayed" and "canceled"?

"Delayed" means something is temporarily put off and will happen later, whereas "canceled" means something will not happen at all.