Refer vs. Defer: What's the Difference?
Edited by Sumera Saeed || By Sawaira Riaz || Updated on September 21, 2023
Refer means to direct someone for information or action; Defer means to postpone or delay action.
Key Differences
The words "Refer" and "Defer" possess distinct meanings. "Refer" generally means to direct someone to a different source of information or to another person for a decision, clarification, or action. It involves pointing out or mentioning a source, usually to resolve a query or to provide further insights. Conversely, "Defer" means to put off or delay an action or decision, often due to respect or the preference of yielding to the opinion or wishes of another.
Sawaira Riaz
Sep 21, 2023
"Refer" is extensively used in consultative situations or where specialization is required, often indicating the act of seeking information, advice, or help from someone more knowledgeable. "Defer," on the other hand, is often associated with yielding authority or delaying an action or decision, usually when more time is needed for consideration or when it is deemed appropriate to seek others' inputs or respect their preferences.
Sawaira Riaz
Sep 21, 2023
Utilizing "Refer" usually indicates the need for expertise or more information and is a common practice in healthcare, law, and academics, wherein specialists or specific sources are pointed out for additional insights or solutions. In contrast, utilizing "Defer" often indicates a postponement, typically of an action, decision, or judgment, allowing for more time to consider or due to the presence of more pressing matters.
Sawaira Riaz
Sep 21, 2023
The action to "Refer" typically conveys a sense of directing or guiding someone toward a source, ensuring the necessary advice, information, or action is obtained from the appropriate entity. Whereas, to "Defer" usually conveys a sense of pausing or holding off on a decision or action, often out of respect, necessity, or strategic consideration.
Sawaira Riaz
Sep 21, 2023
Conclusively, "Refer" relates to the act of directing someone to a different source or person for information, advice, or action, and "Defer" denotes the delaying or postponing of action or decision, generally out of respect, necessity, or a preference to yield to others' opinions or wishes.
Sara Rehman
Sep 21, 2023
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Comparison Chart
Definition
To direct to a source for help or information.
To postpone or delay an action or decision.
Sawaira Riaz
Sep 21, 2023
Purpose
To seek advice, information, or action from a more knowledgeable source.
To delay action or decision, often out of respect or consideration.
Sawaira Riaz
Sep 21, 2023
Use
Consultative situations, seeking specialization or information.
Postponing actions, decisions, yielding authority or preference.
Sawaira Riaz
Sep 21, 2023
Nature
Directive, seeking expertise or clarification.
Postponement, often respectful or considerate delay.
Sawaira Riaz
Sep 21, 2023
Application
Healthcare, law, academics for directing to specialists or specific sources.
Any situation requiring delay in action or decision for various reasons.
Harlon Moss
Sep 21, 2023
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Refer and Defer Definitions
Refer
To direct someone to a source of information or advice.
Please refer to the manual for troubleshooting.
Aimie Carlson
Sep 21, 2023
Defer
To yield respectfully to the opinions or wishes of others.
I defer to your greater experience in this matter.
Sara Rehman
Sep 21, 2023
Refer
To send or direct someone to a specialist or authority for decision or advice.
The doctor decided to refer the patient to a cardiologist.
Sawaira Riaz
Sep 21, 2023
Defer
To hold, suspend, or delay an action or judgment.
The court decided to defer the sentencing to a later date.
Aimie Carlson
Sep 21, 2023
Refer
To mention or allude to something.
The professor may refer to various texts during the lecture.
Janet White
Sep 21, 2023
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Defer
To allocate or deal with a matter later.
Let's defer this discussion to a later time.
Sawaira Riaz
Sep 21, 2023
Refer
To relate or pertain to a particular subject or matter.
The laws refer to the constitutional rights of individuals.
Aimie Carlson
Sep 21, 2023
Defer
To submit or comply with another’s authority or wishes.
The committee will defer to the chairman’s decision.
Sawaira Riaz
Sep 21, 2023
Refer
To direct to a source for help or information
Referred her to a heart specialist.
Referred me to his last employer for a recommendation.
Sawaira Riaz
Dec 21, 2022
Refer
To submit (a matter in dispute) to an authority for arbitration, decision, or examination.
Sawaira Riaz
Dec 21, 2022
Defer
To submit to the wish or decision of another, as in recognition of authority.
Sawaira Riaz
Dec 21, 2022
Defer
To commit or entrust to another
The principal deferred the decision to the school board.
Sawaira Riaz
Dec 21, 2022
Refer
To assign to or regard as belonging within a particular kind or class
Referred the newly discovered partita to the 1600s.
Sawaira Riaz
Dec 21, 2022
Refer
To relate or pertain; concern
Questions referring to yesterday's lecture.
Sawaira Riaz
Dec 21, 2022
Refer
To serve as a descriptor or have as a denotation
The word chair refers to a piece of furniture.
Sawaira Riaz
Dec 21, 2022
Defer
(American football) After winning the opening coin toss, to postpone until the start of the second half a team's choice of whether to kick off or receive (and to allow the opposing team to make this choice at the start of the first half).
Sawaira Riaz
Dec 21, 2022
Refer
To speak or write about something briefly or incidentally; make reference
Referred during our conversation to several books he was reading.
Sawaira Riaz
Dec 21, 2022
Refer
To turn one's attention, as in seeking information
Refer to a dictionary.
Sawaira Riaz
Dec 21, 2022
Defer
(ambitransitive) To submit to the opinion or desire of others in respect to their judgment or authority.
Sawaira Riaz
Dec 21, 2022
Refer
(transitive) To direct the attention of (someone toward something)
The shop assistant referred me to the help desk on ground floor.
Sawaira Riaz
Dec 21, 2022
Refer
(transitive) To submit to (another person or group) for consideration; to send or direct elsewhere.
He referred the matter to the principal.
To refer a patient to a psychiatrist
Sawaira Riaz
Dec 21, 2022
Defer
To put off; to postpone to a future time; to delay the execution of; to delay; to withhold.
Defer the spoil of the city until night.
God . . . will not long deferTo vindicate the glory of his name.
Sawaira Riaz
Dec 21, 2022
Refer
To place in or under by a mental or rational process; to assign to, as a class, a cause, source, a motive, reason, or ground of explanation.
He referred the phenomena to electrical disturbances.
Sawaira Riaz
Dec 21, 2022
Defer
To put off; to delay to act; to wait.
Pius was able to defer and temporize at leisure.
Sawaira Riaz
Dec 21, 2022
Refer
(intransitive) To mention (something); to direct attention (to something)
To explain the problem, the teacher referred to an example in another textbook.
Sawaira Riaz
Dec 21, 2022
Refer
To make reference to; to be about; to relate to; to regard; to allude to.
The recipe referred to several unusual ingredients.
Sawaira Riaz
Dec 21, 2022
Defer
To lay before; to submit in a respectful manner; to refer; - with to.
Hereupon the commissioners . . . deferred the matter to the Earl of Northumberland.
Sawaira Riaz
Dec 21, 2022
Defer
To yield deference to the wishes of another; to submit to the opinion of another, or to authority; - with to.
The house, deferring to legal right, acquiesced.
Sawaira Riaz
Dec 21, 2022
Refer
To point to either a specific location in computer memory or to a specific object. to
In C, the pointer obtained by
&a refers to the variable a.Sawaira Riaz
Dec 21, 2022
Refer
Required to resit an examination.
Smith's marks in the finals were unsatisfactory and he was referred.
Sawaira Riaz
Dec 21, 2022
Defer
Submit or yield to another's wish or opinion;
The government bowed to the military pressure
Sawaira Riaz
Dec 21, 2022
Refer
(journalism) A blurb on the front page of a newspaper issue or section that refers the reader to the full story inside the issue or section by listing its slug or headline and its page number.
Sawaira Riaz
Dec 21, 2022
Defer
To postpone or delay an action or decision.
We had to defer our meeting until next week.
Sara Rehman
Sep 21, 2023
Refer
Hence: To send or direct away; to send or direct elsewhere, as for treatment, aid, information, decision, etc.; to make over, or pass over, to another; as, to refer a student to an author; to refer a beggar to an officer; to refer a bill to a committee; a court refers a matter of fact to a commissioner for investigation, or refers a question of law to a superior tribunal.
Sawaira Riaz
Dec 21, 2022
Refer
To place in or under by a mental or rational process; to assign to, as a class, a cause, source, a motive, reason, or ground of explanation; as, he referred the phenomena to electrical disturbances.
I'll refer me to all things sense.
Sawaira Riaz
Dec 21, 2022
Refer
To have recourse; to apply; to appeal; to betake one's self; as, to refer to a dictionary.
In suits . . . it is to refer to some friend of trust.
Sawaira Riaz
Dec 21, 2022
Refer
To have relation or reference; to relate; to point; as, the figure refers to a footnote.
Of those places that refer to the shutting and opening the abyss, I take notice of that in Job.
Sawaira Riaz
Dec 21, 2022
Refer
To carry the mind or thought; to direct attention; as, the preacher referred to the late election.
Sawaira Riaz
Dec 21, 2022
Refer
To direct inquiry for information or a guarantee of any kind, as in respect to one's integrity, capacity, pecuniary ability, and the like; as, I referred to his employer for the truth of his story.
Now to the universal whole advert:The earth regard as of that whole a part.
Sawaira Riaz
Dec 21, 2022
Refer
Make reference to;
His name was mentioned in connection with the invention
Sawaira Riaz
Dec 21, 2022
Refer
Have to do with or be relevant to;
There were lots of questions referring to her talk
My remark pertained to your earlier comments
Sawaira Riaz
Dec 21, 2022
Refer
Think of, regard, or classify under a subsuming principle or with a general group or in relation to another;
This plant can be referred to a known species
Sawaira Riaz
Dec 21, 2022
Refer
Send or direct for treatment, information, or a decision;
Refer a patient to a specialist
Refer a bill to a committee
Sawaira Riaz
Dec 21, 2022
Refer
Seek information from;
You should consult the dictionary
Refer to your notes
Sawaira Riaz
Dec 21, 2022
Refer
To assign to a particular class or category.
The specimen is referred to as an unknown species.
Sawaira Riaz
Sep 21, 2023
FAQs
Can defer imply a lack of knowledge or uncertainty?
Yes, deferring can sometimes occur when individuals need more time to consider or acquire additional information.
Harlon Moss
Sep 21, 2023
What does it mean to refer someone?
To refer someone means to direct them to another person or source for information, advice, or action.
Sawaira Riaz
Sep 21, 2023
Is referring always about seeking expertise?
Often, but not always; referring can also mean mentioning, alluding to, or relating to something.
Sawaira Riaz
Sep 21, 2023
Is to refer passive?
No, referring is an active process of directing someone to a different source or person.
Sawaira Riaz
Sep 21, 2023
Can one defer a plan?
Yes, plans can be deferred or postponed to a later time.
Aimie Carlson
Sep 21, 2023
Can one defer to another’s judgment?
Absolutely, to defer can mean to yield or submit to another’s judgment or opinion.
Sawaira Riaz
Sep 21, 2023
Does defer always imply respect?
While defer can imply yielding out of respect, it can also simply mean to postpone or delay.
Sawaira Riaz
Sep 21, 2023
Does referring need a direct object?
Typically, yes, as referring usually involves directing someone or something to another entity.
Sara Rehman
Sep 21, 2023
Can refer be used in a medical context?
Yes, doctors often refer patients to specialists for specific treatments or diagnoses.
Janet White
Sep 21, 2023
Is deference related to defer?
Yes, deference is the quality of being deferential or showing respect and yielding to the judgment, opinion, or wishes of another.
Aimie Carlson
Sep 21, 2023
Is deferring a sign of weakness?
Not necessarily, deferring can also be a strategic or respectful choice.
Harlon Moss
Sep 21, 2023
Is referring to always about consulting another person?
Not always; referring can also relate to mentioning, alluding to, or consulting a document, a source of information, or an entity.
Sawaira Riaz
Sep 21, 2023
Can a document refer to another document?
Yes, documents can refer to other documents or sources for additional information or clarification.
Janet White
Sep 21, 2023
Can refer imply a sense of urgency?
It can, depending on the context, especially when immediate information, action, or advice is needed.
Sawaira Riaz
Sep 21, 2023
Can defer mean to allocate funds to a later time?
Yes, to defer can mean to allocate or deal with financial matters at a later time.
Janet White
Sep 21, 2023
About Author
Written by
Sawaira RiazSawaira is a dedicated content editor at difference.wiki, where she meticulously refines articles to ensure clarity and accuracy. With a keen eye for detail, she upholds the site's commitment to delivering insightful and precise content.
Edited by
Sumera SaeedSumera is an experienced content writer and editor with a niche in comparative analysis. At Diffeence Wiki, she crafts clear and unbiased comparisons to guide readers in making informed decisions. With a dedication to thorough research and quality, Sumera's work stands out in the digital realm. Off the clock, she enjoys reading and exploring diverse cultures.
