Words / C1

uh-JURN/əˈdʒɜːn/

To adjourn is to stop a meeting, court, or sitting for a time, intending to continue: adjourn until Monday, the hearing was adjourned. Pause is everyday; postpone can cancel the slot; conclude sits opposite. Pressing on without a spare is not professionalism; it is a gap.

Meaning

To stop a meeting or hearing for a time, intending to continue later.

Examples

• “Adjourn the sitting if the spare invigilator has not arrived; do not “press on” without cover.”
• “Suspend is a close twin. Recess is parliamentary. Postpone may move the date. Cover is a name on a rota. Momentum is a story. Stop; name a time to resume.”

Good to know

Pause a meeting until later. Close: suspend. Everyday: pause. Contrast: conclude. No spare ≠ “press on”.

Near in meaning

suspend

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