moratorium

CEFRC1

/ˌmɒ.ɹəˈtɔː.ɹɪ.əm/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    An official pause or temporary stop to an activity.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    A period of delay granted to someone, especially an adolescent or young adult, during which they are not yet required to take on adult obligations or make permanent commitments; an extended phase of identity exploration.

Examples

  • A moratorium was placed on atmospheric nuclear testing.

  • Kazakhstan declared a moratorium on capital punishment.

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
4
Parts of speech
1
Citations
3
Synonyms
3

Also pronounced

  • /ˌmɔ.ɹəˈtɔ.ɹi.əm/

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. A suspension of an ongoing activity.

  2. An authorization to a debtor, permitting temporary suspension of payments.

More examples

In context

  • Scientists and environmentalists are urging an international moratorium on deep-sea mining.

  • Canada may put a moratorium on cloning for research.

  • If such a pause cannot be enacted quickly, governments should step in and institute a moratorium.

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The government declared a blank on new oil drilling to protect the environment.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

New Latin from Late Latin morātōrium, noun use of the neuter of morātōrius (“moratory, delaying”), from Latin moror (“to delay”), from mora (“delay”), from Proto-Indo-European *mere (“to delay, hinder”). See also moratory.