delay - act later than planned, scheduled, or required; "Don't delay your application to graduate school or else it won't be considered"

call - stop or postpone because of adverse conditions, such as bad weather; "call a football game"

hold - stop dealing with; "hold all calls to the President's office while he is in a meeting"

suspend - as of a prison sentence

probate - put a convicted person on probation by suspending his sentence

reprieve, respite - postpone the punishment of a convicted criminal, such as an execution

repel, repulse - be repellent to; cause aversion in

discourage - deprive of courage or hope; take away hope from; cause to feel discouraged

befuddle, confound, confuse, discombobulate, fox, bedevil, fuddle, throw - be confusing or perplexing to; cause to be unable to think clearly; "These questions confuse even the experts"; "This question completely threw me"; "This question befuddled even the teacher"

fluster - cause to be nervous or upset

bother - make confused or perplexed or puzzled

distract, deflect - draw someone's attention away from something; "The thief distracted the bystanders"; "He deflected his competitors"

abash, embarrass - cause to be embarrassed; cause to feel self-conscious

quibble - evade the truth of a point or question by raising irrelevant objections

avoid - stay clear from; keep away from; keep out of the way of someone or something; "Her former friends now avoid her"