abeyance
noun
[ əˈbeɪəns ]
• a state of temporary disuse or suspension.
• "matters were held in abeyance pending further enquiries"
Similar:
suspension,
a state of suspension,
a state of dormancy,
a state of latency,
a state of uncertainty,
suspense,
remission,
reserve,
pending,
suspended,
deferred,
postponed,
put off,
put to one side,
unattended,
unfinished,
incomplete,
unresolved,
undetermined,
up in the air,
betwixt and between,
in cold storage,
on ice,
on the back burner,
hanging fire,
suspend,
adjourn,
interrupt,
break off,
postpone,
delay,
defer,
shelve,
arrest,
intermit,
prorogue,
hold over,
put aside,
pigeonhole,
reschedule,
cut short,
bring to an end,
cease,
discontinue,
dissolve,
disband,
terminate,
call a halt to,
table,
put on ice,
put on the back burner,
mothball,
take a rain check on,
Origin:
late 16th century (in the legal sense): from Old French abeance ‘aspiration to a title’, from abeer ‘aspire after’, from a- ‘towards’ + beer ‘to gape’.
