the.com/deferment
Debt's snooze button — the alarm still rings, just later and louder.
means An official postponement of something owed or required — a payment, a duty, an obligation — pushed legally into the future.
from From Latin differre, 'to carry apart, put off, delay' — the same root that gives us 'differ' and 'defer.' The sense split over time: 'defer' settled into meaning 'to yield or put off,' while 'deferment' crystallized as the formal noun for an officially sanctioned delay, especially in finance and military service — the paperwork version of 'not now.'
- interest
- often keeps accruing while you wait
- not forgiveness
- you still owe every cent eventually
- common use
- student loans during school or hardship
- cousin term
- forbearance, but with stricter eligibility rules