dilatory
/ˈdɪlət(ə)ɹi/
"dilatory" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“dilatory” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 8
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Intentionally delaying (someone or something), intended to cause delay, gain time, or adjourn decision.
Corpus desk
Index EN-dilatory · dilatory · English
dilatory · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 8 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "D" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | dilatory |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈdɪlət(ə)ɹi/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “dilatory” in English
Rare enough to double-check
dilatory is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˈdɪlət(ə)ɹi/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
No generated misspelling entries exist for dilatory in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English dilatorie, from Old French dilatoire, from Latin dīlātōrius (“extending or putting off (time)”), from dīlātor, from differō. Not etymologically related to delay. The correct English form is dilatory, spelled D-I-L-A-T-O-R-Y.
Definition
- 1Intentionally delaying (someone or something), intended to cause delay, gain time, or adjourn decision.
- 2Slow or tardy.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how dilatory appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
a dilatory strategy
Alva, as usual, brought his dilatory policy to bear upon his adversary with great effect.
Etymology
From Middle English dilatorie, from Old French dilatoire, from Latin dīlātōrius (“extending or putting off (time)”), from dīlātor, from differō. Not etymologically related to delay.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.