shelve
[verb]
Synonyms: postpone, defer, freeze, put aside, put on ice, put on the back burner (informal), suspend, take a rain check on (U.S. & Canad. informal)

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Related Idioms: put on the shelf
Related Words: dish, drop, give up

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English Thesaurus: cancel, call off, be off, postpone, shelve, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

shelve /ʃelv/ verb
[Date: 1500-1600; Origin: shelves, plural of shelf]

1. [transitive] to decide not to continue with a plan, idea etc, although you might continue with it at a later time:
Plans to reopen the school have been shelved.

2. [intransitive always + adverb/preposition] land that shelves is at a slight angle:
The garden shelves gently towards the sea.

3. [transitive] to put something on a shelf, especially books

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

shelve
verb
I. put sth to one side and leave it for a while
ADV. quietly Plans to expand the company have had to be quietly shelved.
VERB + SHELVE be forced to, have to

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

shelve
II. slope
ADV. gently, steeply The ground shelves quite steeply here.
down The beach shelves gently down to the sea.
PREP. to, towards

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

cancel to decide that something that was officially planned will not happen:
The teacher was ill so classes were cancelled for the day.
I was feeling better so I cancelled my doctor’s appointment.
They were forced to cancel the concert when the conductor became ill.
call off to cancel a meeting, game, or event that you have organized. Call off is less formal than cancel and is very commonly used in everyday English:
Linda decided to call the wedding off.
The game was called off due to heavy rain.
be off if an event or activity is off, it has been cancelled because of a sudden problem or change in someone’s plans:
I’m afraid the party’s off. Nick won’t let us use his apartment.
Myers called me yesterday to tell me that the deal was off.
postpone to decide to do something at a later time, instead of the time that was officially planned:
The show has been postponed until next Saturday.
shelve (also put something on ice) to decide not to continue with a plan, project etc although it may be considered again at some time in the future:
Plans for a new stadium have been shelved for now.
The project had to be put on ice due to lack of funding.
Blears called for the discussions to be put on ice until after the elections.
annul formal to officially decide that a marriage, result, or agreement has no legal authority and is therefore cancelled:
The election results were annulled by the courts.
A marriage can be annulled if there has been lack of consent.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

postpone verb [transitive] to change the date or time of a planned event or action to a later one:
The game was postponed because of heavy snow.
We had to postpone the trip because of my father’s illness.
The trial has been postponed until November.
put something off phrasal verb [transitive] to decide to do something later than you planned to do it or later than you should do it, especially because there is a problem or because you do not want to do it now:
I really should go to the dentist, but I keep putting it off.
The concert’s been put off till next week.
The committee decided to put off making any decision until the new year.
delay verb [transitive] to not do something until something else has happened or until a more suitable time:
He decided to delay his departure until after he’d seen the Director.
Police delayed making any announcement until the girl’s relatives had been contacted.
procrastinate verb [intransitive] formal to delay doing something that you ought to do, usually because you do not want to do it – used especially to show disapproval:
Kerry procrastinated for as long as possible before firing anyone.
He had been procrastinating over starting the work.
be pushed/moved/put back if an event is pushed back, someone arranges for it to be held at a later time or date than originally planned:
Their meeting has been put back to next Thursday.
The museum’s opening date was pushed back so that safety checks could be carried out.
The game on April 1 has been moved back to April 5.
shelve verb [transitive] to decide not to continue with a plan, project etc now although it may be considered again at some time in the future:
Plans for a new stadium have been shelved for now.
The city shelved the project due to lack of funding.
put something on ice/put something on the back burner to decide not to continue with a plan, project etc until a later time. These expressions are rather informal and are often used in business English:
The project has had to be put on ice due to lack of funding.
Blears called for the discussions to be put on ice until after the elections.
The plan seems to have been put on the back burner.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲