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cunctator

Other forms: cunctators

If you're a cunctator, you tend to procrastinate, or put off til later what you should probably do right now. Your teacher might call you a cunctator if you start writing your paper the night before it's due.

A cunctator has a habit of postponing or delaying action, often out of laziness. When you come across this unusual word, it's very often capitalized — in this case, it refers specifically to the Roman statesman Fabius Maximus, who became well-known for his cautious military strategy against the Carthaginians during the Second Punic War in the 200s BCE. He was called the Cuncator, Latin for "delayer."

Definitions of cunctator
  1. noun
    someone who postpones work (especially out of laziness or habitual carelessness)
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    type of:
    delayer
    a person who delays; to put off until later or cause to be late
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