Demur

5 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Demur \De*mur"\, v. t.
     1. To suspend judgment concerning; to doubt of or hesitate
        about. [Obs.]
        [1913 Webster]
  
              The latter I demur, for in their looks


              Much reason, and in their actions, oft appears.
                                                    --Milton.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. To cause delay to; to put off. [Obs.]
        [1913 Webster]
  
              He demands a fee,
              And then demurs me with a vain delay. --Quarles.
        [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Demur \De*mur"\ (d[-e]*m[^u]r"), v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Demurred}
     (d[-e]*m[^u]rd"); p. pr. & vb. n. {Demurring}.] [OF. demurer,
     demorer, demourer, to linger, stay, F. demeurer, fr. L.
     demorari; de- + morari to delay, tarry, stay, mora delay;
     prob. originally, time for thinking, reflection, and akin to
     memor mindful. See {Memory}.]
     1. To linger; to stay; to tarry. [Obs.]
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Yet durst not demur nor abide upon the camp.
                                                    --Nicols.
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     2. To delay; to pause; to suspend proceedings or judgment in
        view of a doubt or difficulty; to hesitate; to put off the
        determination or conclusion of an affair.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Upon this rub, the English embassadors thought fit
              to demur.                             --Hayward.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. To scruple or object; to take exception, especailly on the
        basis of scruple or modesty; as, I demur to that
        statement; they wanted to make him president, but he
        demurred.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              When introduced as the world's smartest man, he was
              not inclined to demur.                --Kip Thorne
        [PJC]
  
     4. (Law) To interpose a demurrer. See {Demurrer}, 2.
        [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Demur \De*mur"\, n. [OF. demor, demore, stay, delay. See
     {Demur}, v. i.]
     Stop; pause; hesitation as to proceeding; suspense of
     decision or action; scruple.
     [1913 Webster]
  
           All my demurs but double his attacks;
           At last he whispers, "Do; and we go snacks." --Pope.
     [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  demur
       n : (law) a formal objection to an opponent's pleadings [syn: {demurral},
            {demurrer}]
       v 1: take exception to; "he demurred at my suggestion to work on
            Saturday" [syn: {except}]
       2: enter a demurrer
       [also: {demurring}, {demurred}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  157 Moby Thesaurus words for "demur":
     aversion, back down, balance, balk, bashfulness, beef, bitch,
     blench, boggle, boggling, boycott, call in question, challenge,
     combat, combative reaction, complain, complaint, compunction,
     conscience, counteraction, cry out against, debate, defiance,
     deliberate, demonstrate, demonstrate against, demonstration,
     demurral, demurrer, deprecate, deprecation, difference, difficulty,
     diffidence, disagreement, disapproval, disapprove, disinclination,
     dispute, dissent, dissentience, enter a protest, exception,
     expostulate, expostulation, falter, faltering, fear, fight,
     fight shy of, flinch, fractiousness, gag, grievance,
     grievance committee, hang back, hang off, have qualms, hem and haw,
     hesitance, hesitancy, hesitate, hesitation, hold off, holler,
     hover, howl, hum and haw, indignation meeting, jib, kick,
     make bones about, march, modesty, negativism, noncooperation,
     nonviolent protest, object, objection, obstinacy, oppose,
     opposition, passive resistance, pause, picket, picketing, ponder,
     press objections, protest, protest demonstration, protestation,
     pull back, quail, qualm, qualm of conscience, qualmishness,
     question, raise a howl, rally, reaction, rebuff, recalcitrance,
     recalcitrancy, recalcitration, recoil, refractoriness, reluctance,
     remonstrance, remonstrate, remonstration, renitence, renitency,
     repellence, repellency, repulse, repulsion, resist, resistance,
     retreat, revolt, scruple, scrupulosity, scrupulousness,
     shilly-shally, shrink, shrinking, shy, shy at, shyness, sit in,
     sit-in, squawk, stand, state a grievance, stick, stick at, stickle,
     stickling, stop to consider, straddle the fence, strain, strain at,
     strike, stumble, teach in, teach-in, think twice about,
     uncooperativeness, unwillingness, vacillate, variance, waver,
     wince, withdraw, withstanding, yell bloody murder, yield