What does "demur" mean?
An act of objecting or taking exception; a scruple; also, an exception taken or objection to something.
Demur
/dɪˈmɜː/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: An act of objecting or taking exception; a scruple; also, an exception taken or objection to something.
- Grammar: demur is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: argue, aversion, back down, balance.
- Useful contrasts: accede, agree, approval.
- Usage evidence: A female may act demur but she can be plotting your sudden death owing to your stupid obedience.
How to use "demur"
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- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "demur" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
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Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "demur" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
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Compare nearby meanings
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Definition decision workflow
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Final meaning check
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Definitions
Noun
- 1 An act of objecting or taking exception; a scruple; also, an exception taken or objection to something.
"If publique Aſſemblies of Divines cannot agree upon a right vvay, private Conventicles of illeterate men, vvill ſoon finde a vvrong. Bivious demurres breed devious reſolutions. Paſſengers to heaven are in haſte, and vvill vvalk one vvay or other."
- 2 (law) a formal objection to an opponent's pleadings wordnet
- 3 An act of continuing; a continuance. obsolete
"[G]ood People, living vvithin the Limits of true and lavvful Matrimony, ſhall not by Malice or ill VVill, be ſo long detained and interrupted from their Right, as in times paſt they have been: Neither unjuſt Matrymony ſhall have his unjuſt and inceſtuous demoure and continuance, as by delayes to Rome it is vvont to have."
- 4 An act of lingering or tarrying. obsolete
"[A]lbeit his Highneſs had cauſe, as the ſame vvrote, to marvel of your long demor, and lack of expedition of one or other of the things committed to your charge; yet did his Highneſs right vvell perſuade unto himſelf the default not to be in you, but in ſome other cauſe, […]"
- 5 An act of remaining or staying; a residence, a stay. obsolete
"VVe ſavv this tovvn only in tranſitu, but it merited a little demurr."
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 A state of having doubts; a hesitation, a pause. obsolete
"The King told me, […] That I ſhould have the Character of Ambaſſador Extraordinary, and the ſame Allovvance I ſhou'd have had in Spain: Upon this Offer I made no Demurr, but immediately accepted it, and ſo my Ambaſſy vvas declar'd in May 1674."
- 7 Synonym of demurrer (“a motion by a party to a legal action for the immediate or summary judgment of the court on the question of whether, assuming the truth of the matter alleged by the opposite party, it is sufficient in law to sustain the action or defence, and hence whether the party bringing the motion is required to answer or proceed further”). obsolete
"[W]ith Rejoinders and Replies, / Long Bills, and Anſvvers, ſtuft vvith Lies, / Demurr, Imparlance, and Eſſoign, / The Parties ne'er could Iſſue join: / For Sixteen Years the Cauſe vvas ſpun, / And then ſtood vvhere it firſt begun."
Verb
- 1 Chiefly followed by to, and sometimes by at or on: to object or be reluctant; to balk, to take exception. intransitive
"I demur to that statement."
- 2 object to wordnet
- 3 To submit a demurrer (“motion by a party to a legal action for the immediate or summary judgment of the court on the question of whether, assuming the truth of the matter alleged by the opposite party, it is sufficient in law to sustain the action or defence, and hence whether the party bringing the motion is required to answer or proceed further”). intransitive
"He that demurreth in Law confeſſeth all ſuch matters of fact as are well and ſufficiently pleaded."
- 4 enter a demurrer wordnet
- 5 To endure, to last. intransitive, obsolete
Show 8 more definitions
- 6 To linger, to tarry. intransitive, obsolete
"The Eele is here, and in this hollow cave / You'll finde, if that our looks on it demurre, / A great wast in the bottome of his furre."
- 7 To remain, to stay. intransitive, obsolete
- 8 To suspend judgment or proceedings because of a difficulty or doubt; to put off the conclusion or determination of a matter; to delay, to hesitate, to pause. intransitive, obsolete
"[The Governor of Picardie and Chastilion of Newhaven said] there muſt be much vvaſt of time if the Engliſh ſhould lye at Guiſnes and the French at Ardes, and that the equality vvould be more, and the diſhonour to one of the ſides leſſe, if the entervievv ſhould be vpon the Frontires, then if one part ſhould be dravven into the territory of the other. Vpon this rubbe the Engliſh Embaſſadors thought fit to demurre, and ſo ſent into England to receiue directions from the Lords of the counſaile."
- 9 To have doubts; to be doubtful. intransitive, obsolete, rare
- 10 Followed by upon: to be captivated or fixated; to dwell on, to linger. figuratively, intransitive, obsolete
- 11 To object or take exception to (something). rare, transitive
"I demur the inference from these facts that Homer must have lived at some far later period, when he could have seen such works. Even if he had never seen any representations of life, his imagination might have conceived them."
- 12 To cause delay to (someone or something); to put off. obsolete, transitive
"[The Jews believe that God] ſitteth in iudgement, and out of the books taketh reckoning of eurie mans life, and pronounceth ſentence accordingly. […] [T]he third, of the meane ſort, vvhoſe iudgement is demurred vntill the day of Reconciliation, (the tenth of Tiſri,) that if in the meane time they ſeriouſly repent them ſo, that their good may exceed their euill, then are they entred into the Booke of life; if othervviſe, they are recorded in the Blacke Bill of Death."
- 13 To have doubts or hesitate about (something). obsolete, transitive
"VVhat may this mean? Language of Man pronounc't / By Tongue of Brute, and human ſenſe expreſt? / The firſt at leſt of theſe I thought deni'd / To Beaſts, vvhom God on thir Creation-Day / Created mute to all articulat ſound; / The latter I demurre, for in thir looks / Much reaſon, and in thir actions oft appeers."
Example
"A female may act demur but she can be plotting your sudden death owing to your stupid obedience."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "demur"?
Common synonyms include: argue, aversion, back down, balance, balk, balking.
How do you use "demur" in a sentence?
A female may act demur but she can be plotting your sudden death owing to your stupid obedience.
How do you pronounce "demur"?
Pronounced /dɪˈmɜː/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
PIE word *de From Middle English demuren (“to delay; to linger; to remain (in office); to keep, retain (?)”), from Anglo-Norman demorer and Old French demorer, demourer (“to remain, stay”) (modern French demeurer), from Vulgar Latin dēmorāre, from Latin dēmorārī, the present active infinitive of Latin dēmoror (“to delay, detain; to linger, tarry”), from de- (intensifying prefix) + moror (“to delay, detain; to hinder, impede; to linger, loiter”) (from mora (“a delay; hindrance, obstacle”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)mer- (“to fall into thinking; to remember”), probably referring to a time for thinking) + -or (variant of -ō (suffix forming regular first-conjugation verbs)).
Etymology 2
From Middle English demure, demore (“a delay, demur; a sojourn, stay”), from Old French demure, demore, demuere (“a delay, demur”) (modern French demeure), from Old French demorer, demourer (verb): see etymology 1.