cuncta-

(Latin: hesitate, pause, stall, delay)

cunctate (kungk TAYT) (verb), cunctates; cunctated; cunctating
1. To be slow or late about doing something that should be done: James told his son to stop cunctating and to do his homework so he could go to bed on time.

Jerry was not cunctating the celebration of his wife's birthday because he gave her a beautiful diamond ring and took her out for a special meal on the appropriate day.

2. Etymology: from Latin cunctari, "to delay, to defer".

The following cartoon provides an example of what cunctate means.

To put off or to delay, to postpone.
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cunctation (kungk TAY shuhn) (s) (noun), cunctations (pl)
1. A hesitation, a postponement, a procrastination or putting off until another time: There was a cunctation of the regular TV program because there was some "breaking news" regarding the explosion that took place in the city of Paris.
2. Etymology: from Latin cunctatio; from cunctatus, the past participle of cunctari, "to delay, to waver".
cunctatious (kungk TAY shuhs) (adjective), more cunctatious, most cunctatious
Descriptive of something that takes longer than expected: The cunctatious trip to school on the bus during the storm made the students late for their first period.
cunctative (kungk TAY tiv) (adjective), more cunctative, most cunctative
Pertaining to being slow, careful, and systematic: The members, who were working on the project for their company, did a significant amount of cunctative research in order to have the best results possible.
cunctator (s) (kungk TAY tuhr) (noun), cunctators (pl)
1. Someone who reschedules work, usually because of laziness or habitual carelessness: Jerry's wife accused him of being a cunctator because he didn't wash and dry the towels on the day they were supposed to be done.

Sometimes a cunctator is a person who lingers or puts things off because he or she wants to do them at a later date.

2.Etymology: from Latin cunctator, from cunctari, "to hesitate, to delay".
Someone who hesitates to do something.
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Go to this Word A Day Revisited Index
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cunctatory (KUNGK tah tohr" ee) (adjective), more cunctatory, most cunctatory
A reference to something which is put off until a later time that should be done now: If David doesn't learn the vocabulary assignment this evening, before going to bed, his cunctatory behavior will result in failing the test in his English class tomorrow morning.