Because two board members were absent, the meeting was ____ until the following week. The options are postponed, deferred, adjourned, and suspended. A learner who reads all four as "delayed" can freeze, because each looks plausible before a meeting. The intended answer is postponed — the event is moved to a later date before it starts. This guide sorts the delay verbs so the choice rests on what is being put off and whether it was already under way, not on which verb sounds most official.
Four verbs, one idea of "put off," different objects
All four push something into the future, but they differ in what they act on and whether it had begun — and Part 5 lives on that difference.
postpone → move a scheduled event to a later date, before it starts ("postpone the launch," "postpone the wedding")
defer → hold off a decision, payment, or action, often indefinitely ("defer payment," "defer judgment")
adjourn → break off a meeting or session already in progress, to resume later ("adjourn the hearing," "the court adjourned")
suspend → halt an ongoing activity or service for a period ("suspend operations," "suspend an account")
Postpone reschedules an event that has not started; defer puts off a decision or obligation; adjourn pauses a meeting that is running; suspend stops an activity that was operating. Same direction — later — but different objects and different starting states.
The one-second test: reschedule, hold off, break off, or halt?
You do not need to weigh tone first. Read what the object is and whether it had started:
- The object is a scheduled event being moved to a later date, before it happens → postpone.
- The object is a decision, payment, or obligation being held off → defer.
- The object is a meeting or session already running being broken off to resume later → adjourn.
- The object is an ongoing activity or service being stopped for a time → suspend.
The company decided to ____ the dividend until profits recovered. A dividend is a payment obligation being held off, so the answer is defer, not postpone. Trading was ____ after the price plunged. Trading is an ongoing activity being halted, so suspend fits. Read the object and whether it was under way, and the verb decides before any question of formality arises. For the wider skill of reading whether an item tests meaning at all, see word choice versus word form.
Postpone versus defer: the overlap that costs points
The two blur because both mean "do it later." The split is real: postpone moves a fixed event to a new date, while defer holds off an action or decision without necessarily setting a new time.
The airline **postponed** the flight to Tuesday.✓ — a scheduled event gets a new date.The buyer asked to **defer** the payment for 30 days.✓ — an obligation is held off.
When the object is an event on a calendar — a launch, a match, a ceremony — that simply needs a later slot, postpone fits. When the object is a decision, judgment, payment, or claim that is being put on hold, defer fits. TOEIC exploits this by offering both and letting the object — datable event versus held-off obligation — tip the answer.
Why "adjourn" needs a meeting already running
Adjourn is the distractor that punishes reading "delay" without checking whether the thing had started. It applies specifically to a meeting, court, or formal session that is in session and is broken off to continue later:
The chair **adjourned** the meeting until 2 p.m.✓ — a running session pauses.The court **adjourned** for the weekend.✓ — proceedings break off, to resume.
Put adjourn before an event that has not started — adjourn the launch — and it reads wrong, because there is no session in progress to break off. The verb requires something already convened. Matching the verb to the object's state — running or not yet begun — rather than defaulting to the most formal option is the same instinct that separates a stringent standard from a strict rule: context, not sophistication, decides.
Suspend: halting an activity that was operating
Suspend stops an ongoing activity, service, or status for a period, with resumption expected:
The airline **suspended** all flights during the strike.✓ — an ongoing service is halted.Her account was **suspended** for a week.✓ — an active status is paused.
The signal is an activity that was operating — flights, operations, a membership, a licence — being stopped temporarily. If the object is a single scheduled event rather than an ongoing activity, postpone is the better fit; suspend the wedding reads oddly because a wedding is an event, not an operation.
Quick-reference table
| Verb | Core action | Typical objects | Signal in the sentence |
|---|---|---|---|
| postpone | move an event to a later date | launch, meeting date, wedding, match | a scheduled event, not yet started |
| defer | hold off a decision or payment | payment, decision, judgment, tax | an obligation or choice held off |
| adjourn | break off a running session | meeting, hearing, court, session | something already convened, to resume later |
| suspend | halt an ongoing activity | operations, trading, account, service | an activity that was operating, paused |
Practice the decision
The concert was ____ because of the typhoon and rescheduled for June.→ postponed (event moved to a new date).The board voted to ____ the decision until more data was available.→ defer (a decision held off).The judge ____ the trial until Monday morning.→ adjourned (a running session broken off).Bus services were ____ during the flooding.→ suspended (an ongoing service halted).
In each case the object and its state — a datable event, a held-off obligation, a running session, an operating service — decides the verb before any judgment of tone. Lock onto what is being delayed and whether it had started, and this cluster stops being guesswork.
Takeaway
Do not pick these verbs by how official they sound. Read the object and its state: scheduled events get postpone, decisions and payments get defer, meetings already in session get adjourn, and ongoing activities get suspend. The delay verbs are sorted by what is put off and whether it had begun, and Part 5 rewards the reader who asks that before choosing how.