cunc·ta·tion

(kŭngk-tā′shən)

Procrastination; delay.

[Latin cūnctātiō, cūnctātiōn-, from cūnctātus, past participle of cūnctārī, to delay; see konk- in Indo-European roots.]

cunc′ta′tive (kŭngk′tā′tĭv, -tə-tĭv) adj.

cunc′ta′tor n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

cunctator - someone who postpones work (especially out of laziness or habitual carelessness)

postponer, procrastinator

delayer - a person who delays; to put off until later or cause to be late

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

Believe me in war the energy of young men often shows the way better than all the experience of old Cunctators."

View in context

Lukasz Neubauer categorizes and explicates some examples of Tolkien's philological jests relating to place names (toponyms) and character names (anthroponyms and zoonyms) in "Plain Ignorance in the Vulgar Form: Tolkien's Onomastic Humour in Farmer Giles of Ham." "Pseudo-classical reframing" finds humor in the contrast of faux-formal names with down-to-earth characters like Aegidius Ahenobarbus Julius Agricola de Hammo; "Replication of reality" similarly uses such names to comment on character, as in the name of the blacksmith, Fabricius Cunctator, with its implications of delay and falsification.

LAUGHTER IN MIDDLE-EARTH: HUMOUR IN AND AROUND THE WORKS OF J.R.R. TOLKIEN

Quintus Fabius Maximus (nicknamed "Cunctator," or "Lingerer") saved Rome from Hannibal's invasion because he protracted the campaign, avoiding decisive engagements with Hannibal's army.

The trouble with mission command: Flexive Command and the future of command and control

Fabius Maximus Cunctator and the Claudii, who advocated remaining in Rome.

Constructing a New Woman for the Body Politic: The Creation of Claudia Quinta

During the second Punic war the famous general Quintus Fabius Maximus became known as Quintus Fabius Cunctator (the Delayer) as he avoided contact with the enemy until he judged that circumstances were totally in his favour.

Welcoming the young into politics; Views of the North

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