moratorium

• POS: Noun
• HYPHEN: mor=a=to=ri=um

CIDE DICTIONARY

moratorium, n. [NL. See Moratory.].

•  A period during which an obligor has a legal right to delay meeting an obligation, esp. such a period granted, as to a bank, by a moratory law.  [Webster 1913 Suppl.]
•  a suspension of an activity.  [PJC]
•  an officially authorized period of delay or waiting; as, a moratorium on putting a law into effect.  [PJC]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

moratorium, n. (pl. moratoriums or moratoria)
1 (often foll. by on) a temporary prohibition or suspension (of an activity).
2 a a legal authorization to debtors to postpone payment. b the period of this postponement.

Etymology

mod.L, neut. of LL moratorius delaying f. L morari morat- to delay f. mora delay

THESAURUS

moratorium

afterthought, bind, block, blockage, bureaucratic delay, cancellation, delay, delayage, delayed reaction, detention, double take, dragging, freeze, grace period, halt, hang-up, hiatus, hindrance, holdup, interim, jam, lag, lagging, logjam, obliteration, obstruction, paperasserie, pause, postponement, red tape, red-tapeism, red-tapery, reprieve, respite, retardance, retardation, slow-up, slowdown, slowness, stay, stay of execution, stop, stoppage, suspense, suspension, tie-up, time lag, wait, write-off

ROGET THESAURUS

moratorium

Lateness

N lateness, tardiness, delay, delation, cunctation, procrastination, deferring, deferral, postponement, adjournment, prorogation, retardation, respite, pause, reprieve, stay of execution, protraction, prolongation, Fabian policy, medecine expectante, chancery suit, federal case, leeway, high time, moratorium, holdover, late, tardy, slow, behindhand, serotine, belated, postliminious, posthumous, backward, unpunctual, untimely, delayed, postponed, dilatory, delayed, in abeyance, late, lateward, backward, late in the day, at sunset, at the eleventh hour, at length, at last, ultimately, after time, behind time, after the deadline, too late, too late for, slowly, leisurely, deliberately, at one's leisure, ex post facto, sine die, nonum prematur in annum, against the sunbeams serotine and lucent, ie meglio tardi che mai, deliberando saepe perit occasio.