dejar pendiente
leave pending
Definition & meaning
Dejar pendiente means to leave something unfinished, unresolved, or still to be dealt with. Depending on context, it can also mean to postpone dealing with it.
- Dejar pendiente un asunto means to leave a matter unresolved.
- Dejar pendiente una tarea means to leave a task undone or unfinished.
- When the focus is on postponement, it means to put something off until later.
In a related construction, dejar a alguien pendiente de algo means to keep someone waiting for or focused on something, such as a reply.
Dejar pendiente · dejar a alguien pendiente de algo
Grammar & Word origin
This phrase combines dejar (“to leave” or “to let”) with pendiente, an adjective meaning “pending” or “unresolved.” The adjective agrees in number with the thing left unfinished: un asunto pendiente (“a pending matter”), varias tareas pendientes (“several unfinished tasks”).
dejar · pendiente · un asunto pendiente · varias tareas pendientes
The sense of pendiente developed from the idea of something “hanging” or not yet settled, ultimately linked to Latin pendēre, “to hang.”
Synonyms & antonyms
Possible synonyms include:
- dejar sin resolver — “to leave unresolved”; emphasizes that no solution has been reached.
dejar sin resolver - dejar sin hacer — “to leave undone”; emphasizes that a task has not been carried out.
dejar sin hacer - aplazar or posponer — “to postpone”; these specifically emphasize moving something to a later time, rather than merely leaving it unfinished.
aplazar · posponer
Antonyms include resolver (“to resolve”), terminar (“to finish”), and completar (“to complete”), when the intended meaning is to leave something no longer pending.
resolver · terminar · completar
Common phrases & collocations
- dejar un asunto pendiente — to leave a matter unresolved.
dejar un asunto pendiente - dejar una tarea pendiente — to leave a task unfinished.
dejar una tarea pendiente - dejar algo pendiente para mañana — to leave something until tomorrow.
dejar algo pendiente para mañana - dejar a alguien pendiente de una respuesta — to keep someone waiting for a reply.
dejar a alguien pendiente de una respuesta
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Examples
Dejo pendiente la tarea para mañana.other
I am leaving the task pending until tomorrow.
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