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To hinder; to delay. [Obs.] Johnson.

To delay the punishment of; to suspend the execution of sentence on; to give a respite to; to respite; as, to reprieve a criminal for thirty days. He reprieves the sinnner from time to time. Rogers.

A putting off of that which was appointed; a postponement or delay. I crave but four day's respite. Shak.

To keep delaying; to continue to hinder; to prevent from progress; to render more slow in progress; to impede; to hinder; as, to retard the march of an army; to retard the motion of a ship; -- opposed to Ant: accelerate.

The act of retarding; hindrance; the act of delaying; as, the retardation of the motion of a ship; -- opposed to Ant: acceleration. The retardations of our fluent motion. De Quinsey.

A rondelay. "Sung all the roundel lustily." Chaucer. Come, now a roundel and a fairy song. Shak.

put off or out of the way by some expedient. "I shifted him away." Shak. To shift off, to delay; to defer; to put off; to lay aside. -- To shift the scene, to change the locality or the surroundings, as in a play or a story. Shift the scene for half an hour; Time and place are in thy power. Swift.

To stay, as judicial proceedings; to delay or suspend; to stop.

son. In this business of growing rich, poor men should slack their pace. South. With such delay Well plased, they slack their course. Milton.

To render slow; to slacken the speed of; to retard; to delay; as, to slow a steamer. Shak.

porary resident or as a stranger, not considering the place as a permanent habitation; to delay; to tarry. Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there. Gen. xii. 30. Home he goeth, he might not longer sojourn. Chaucer. The soldiers first assembled at Newcastle, and there sojourned three days. Hayward.…

Without the usual delay; before any time supposed; early. How is it that ye are come so soon to-day Ex. ii. 18.

To protract; to spend by delays; as, to spin out the day in idleness. By one delay after another they spin out their whole lives. L'Estrange.

to scorn to receive or accept; to treat with contempt. What safe and nicely I might well delay By rule of knighthood, I disdain and spurn. Shak. Domestics will pay a more cheerful service when they find themselves not spurned because fortune has laid them at their master's feet. Locke.

To delay by force or craft; to drive away; -- usually with off; as, to stave off the execution of a project. And answered with such craft as women use, Guilty or guilties, to stave off a chance That breaks upon them perilously. Tennyson.

Without stop or delay. Mir. for Mag.

Immediately; without loss of time; without delay. He took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, Talitha cumi. . . . And straightway the damsel arose. Mark v. 41,42.

To cause to cease for a time; to hinder from proceeding; to interrupt; to delay; to stay. Suspend your indignation against my brother. Shak. The guard nor fights nor fies; their fate so near At once suspends their courage and their fear. Denham.

Especially, temporary delay, interruption, or cessation; as:

Tending to suspend, or to keep in suspense; causing interruption or delay; uncertain; doubtful. "In suspensive thoughts." Beaumont. "A suspensive veto." Macaulay. The provisional and suspensive attitude. J. Morley. Suspensive condition (Scots Law), a condition precedent, or a condition without the performance of which…