SYNONYMS AND RELATED EXPRESSIONS
stay
noun
An official suspension or postponement of a proceeding or its enforcement.
Local English device voice, when available. This is not a recorded dictionary pronunciation.
Official suspension
Closest synonyms
Related words and expressions
These extend or explain the idea and may require a different sentence structure.
Usage distinction
Return to topIn this sense, a stay delays a proceeding or enforcement. A moratorium is a broader suspension of an activity; a stay need not cancel the matter permanently.
CHECK THE MEANING IN CONTEXT
See stay in use
In the courtroom scene, a temporary stay pauses enforcement of the order.
A temporary stay in the classroom case officially postpones the hearing about a workshop closure until a missing record can be supplied.
Compare an alternative with the original word in each passage. Shared meanings do not make every pair interchangeable.
Synonym reference scope and sources
The groups distinguish the senses selected for this study entry. Closest synonyms and broader related expressions have separate labels. The listed sources support lexical selection; not every phrase is a direct quotation from a source.
How the synonym reference was prepared / WordNet 3.0 license