Meanings
plural dilatorinesses
- uncountableusuallyThe state or quality of being dilatory.
In some narratives of the origin of death, two messengers are despatched, and the cause of death is said to have been the dilatoriness or misconduct of the messenger who bore the glad tidings of immortality.
1918, James George Frazer, Folk-Lore In The Old Testament, volume 1, page 551 more example
Nor when he got home was he much more inclined to any resolute line of action […] for he got no pen and paper, and he dawdled over his teacup with the utmost dilatoriness, putting off, as it were, the evil day.
1861, Anthony Trollope, Framley Parsonage
Synonyms & antonyms
nounslowness as a consequence of not getting around to it
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Translations
Irish leadrán, leadránacht
- leadránthe state or quality of being dilatory
- leadránachtthe state or quality of being dilatory
Polish opieszałość
- opieszałośćthe state or quality of being dilatory
Cite this entry
dilatoriness. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dilatoriness
“dilatoriness.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dilatoriness. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “dilatoriness,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dilatoriness.
Source: dilatoriness on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.