Put off being freed, perhaps (5)
I believe the answer is:
defer
'put off' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'freed perhaps' is the wordplay.
'perhaps' indicates an anagram.
'freed' is an anagram of 'DEFER'.
'being' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for defer that I've seen before include "stall" , "Yield to another's opinion" , "Play for time" , "Yield to authority" , "Give precedence to" .)