put off

verbs

hold back to a later time

"let's postpone the exam"

defer, hold over, postpone, prorogue, put off, put over, remit, set back, shelve, table

is derived from

cause to feel intense dislike or distaste

put off, turn off

take away the enthusiasm of

dishearten, put off

cause to feel embarrassment

"The constant attention of the young man confused her"

confuse, disconcert, flurry, put off

avoid or try to avoid fulfilling, answering, or performing (duties, questions, or issues)

"He dodged the issue"; "she skirted the problem"; "They tend to evade their responsibilities"; "he evaded the questions skillfully"

circumvent, dodge, duck, elude, evade, fudge, hedge, parry, put off, sidestep, skirt