cunctatory

C3U1N1C3T1A1T1O1R1Y4

adjective

delaying; procrastinating

OriginLatin cunctor →
Scrabble 17
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Meanings

adjective
  1. delaying; procrastinating

    Indeed, for several weeks the time rushed by, and it was really only in the final month, when freedom grew palpably close, that every minute took on a crabwise, cunctatory manner, came near to stalling altogether.

    1988, Alan Hollinghurst, The Swimming-Pool Library, paperback edition, London: Penguin Books, →ISBN, page 252

Origin

  1. Latincunctor“delay, impede”
  2. Englishcunctatory

From Latin cunctor (“delay, impede”).

More words from Latin

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

cunctatory. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cunctatory

MLA

“cunctatory.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cunctatory. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cunctatory,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cunctatory.

Source: cunctatory on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.