Indefinitely Meaning: Definition, Usage, and How It Differs From “Forever” 2026
Whether you’ve read that a flight is “delayed indefinitely” or that a project has been “postponed indefinitely,” this word shows up constantly in news headlines and everyday speech. This guide covers exactly what “indefinitely” means, how it differs from words like “forever” and “temporarily,” and how to use it correctly in a sentence.
What Does Indefinitely Mean?
Indefinitely is an adverb meaning for a period of time with no fixed, planned, or foreseeable end. It describes something that continues, or is put on hold, without anyone specifying exactly when — or if — it will stop or resume.
Example: “The meeting has been postponed indefinitely.” This means no new date has been set — it isn’t canceled forever, but there’s also no confirmed time when it will happen.
Indefinitely comes from the adjective indefinite (meaning “not clearly defined or fixed”) plus the suffix -ly, which turns it into an adverb describing how something happens — in this case, in an open-ended, unspecified way.
Quick Jump
- What Does Indefinitely Mean?
- Indefinitely vs. Forever: What’s the Difference?
- Indefinitely vs. Temporarily
- Common Phrases Using Indefinitely
- Example Sentences
- Frequently Asked Questions
Indefinitely vs. Forever: What’s the Difference?
This is the most common point of confusion, and the distinction matters:
| Word | Meaning | Implication |
| Indefinitely | No fixed end has been set | Could end at any time, or could continue for a very long time — the point is that it’s unspecified |
| Forever | Never ending, permanent | Implies a deliberate, final state with no expectation of change |
Several dictionaries note that in casual speech, people sometimes use “indefinitely” as if it means “forever” — but technically, the two aren’t the same. Something postponed indefinitely simply has no announced end date; it could resume next week or next year. Something that lasts forever is understood to never stop by design.
A useful way to think about it: “indefinitely” describes uncertainty about the end, while “forever” asserts there is no end at all.
Indefinitely vs. Temporarily
These two are sometimes confused as well, but they point in different directions:
- Temporarily implies a known or expected return to a previous state — “the store is temporarily closed” suggests it will reopen, likely soon.
- Indefinitely doesn’t promise a return at all — “the store is closed indefinitely” is more open-ended and can suggest real uncertainty about whether or when it will reopen.
This is part of why “indefinitely” often carries a slightly more serious or uncertain tone in news writing — an employee “suspended indefinitely” sounds more significant than one “suspended temporarily,” even though technically, “indefinitely” doesn’t guarantee a longer duration; it just doesn’t specify one.
Common Phrases Using Indefinitely
The word shows up especially often in a handful of recurring phrases:
- “Postponed indefinitely” — an event or plan delayed with no new date set
- “Suspended indefinitely” — commonly used for disciplinary or regulatory actions (in sports, employment, or memberships) where no return date has been announced
- “Continue indefinitely” — used to describe a process, trend, or situation with no planned stopping point
- “Detained indefinitely” / “held indefinitely” — used in legal and political contexts to describe confinement without a specified release date, often a significant and controversial legal concept in its own right
- “Store indefinitely” / “keep indefinitely” — used for something (like a food item or file) that remains stable or usable without expiring or needing to be discarded
Example Sentences
- “The flight has been delayed indefinitely due to the storm.”
- “Scientists don’t expect economic growth to continue indefinitely.”
- “He was suspended indefinitely after the investigation began.”
- “This bread will keep indefinitely if you freeze it.”
- “I can’t keep putting off this decision indefinitely.”
Frequently Asked Questions
What does “postponed indefinitely” mean? It means an event has been delayed with no new date currently set — it isn’t necessarily canceled forever, but there’s no confirmed time for it to happen either.
Is indefinitely the same as forever? Not technically — “indefinitely” means no end date has been specified, while “forever” means something is permanent and never-ending. In casual speech people sometimes blur the two, but they have distinct meanings.
What’s the difference between indefinitely and temporarily? “Temporarily” implies an expected return to normal, often soon. “Indefinitely” doesn’t specify any timeline for resuming or returning, which can suggest more open-ended uncertainty.
What part of speech is “indefinitely”? It’s an adverb, formed from the adjective “indefinite” plus the suffix “-ly.”
Can something last indefinitely and still eventually end? Yes — that’s actually the core of the word’s meaning. “Indefinitely” just means no end date is fixed or announced; the situation can still end at any point.
Why do news headlines use “indefinitely” so often? Because it precisely communicates “we don’t know when this will resolve” without falsely promising either a quick resolution or a permanent state — useful in situations like legal suspensions, canceled events, or ongoing investigations.
See Also: No Cap Meaning
