Describing Time and Duration: English Vocabulary List

continuing or enduring for a long time, without significant changes

"This is a lasting memory."

"The lasting friendship between the two men survived fifty years of distance and disagreement between them."

failing to be on time or meet a scheduled deadline

"He is often tardy."

"The tardy student arrived fifteen minutes late to class and the teacher marked him absent for the day."

continuing or existing forever

"Their love seems eternal."

"The eternal love story of the famous couple has inspired countless books and movies over many years."

currently occurring or continuing

"The project is ongoing."

"The ongoing investigation into the company's finances revealed that several employees had been stealing money for years without detection."

remaining unaffected by the passage of time

"The design is timeless."

"The timeless design of the classic watch meant that it never went out of style at all."

to waste time when one should be acting with purpose

"Do not dawdle on the way home."

"The children tend to dawdle on the way to school stopping to look at every interesting thing they see along the sidewalk."

to postpone something that needs to be done

"Do not procrastinate on important tasks."

"Students often procrastinate when they have a large project to complete because they feel overwhelmed and do not know where to start."

to arrange or put off an activity or an event for a later time than its original schedule

"The school will postpone the sports day."

"The organizers decided to postpone the outdoor concert until next weekend because the weather forecast predicted heavy rain and thunderstorms."

lasting for a longer time than necessary

"The war was protracted."

"The protracted legal battle between the two neighbors lasted for three years and cost them a fortune."