Moratorium

n.	1.	(Law) A period during which an obligor has a legal right to delay meeting an obligation, esp. such a period granted, as to a bank, by a moratory law.
	2.	a suspension of an activity.
	3.	an officially authorized period of delay or waiting; as, a moratorium on putting a law into effect.

Noun	1.	moratorium - a legally authorized postponement before some obligation must be discharged
	2.	moratorium - suspension of an ongoing activity

afterthought, bind, block, blockage, bureaucratic delay, cancellation, delay, delayage, delayed reaction, detention, double take, dragging, freeze, grace period, halt, hang-up, hiatus, hindrance, holdup, interim, jam, lag, lagging, logjam, obliteration, obstruction, paperasserie, pause, postponement, red tape, red-tapeism, red-tapery, reprieve, respite, retardance, retardation, slow-up, slowdown, slowness, stay, stay of execution, stop, stoppage, suspense, suspension, tie-up, time lag, wait, write-off