CALL OFF Synonyms: 61 Similar and Opposite Words

call off

verb

Definition of call off

as in to distract

to draw the attention or mind to something else she was about to tell me the big news when her attention was called off by the arrival of another guest

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in to cancel

to put an end to (something planned or previously agreed to) called off the party after half of those invited couldn't make it

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of call off The wide receiver and his fiancée appear to have called off their engagement after over a year. — Ryan Morik, FOXNews.com, 14 Aug. 2026 Tennessee called off Carruthers' execution after a doctor failed to insert a backup intravenous line for about two hours, prompting Lee to grant Carruthers a one-year reprieve. — Amanda Lee Myers, USA Today, 13 Aug. 2026 Walter put a take-it-or-leave-it bid on the table so high — hundreds of millions above where the other bidders had been in the process — that former Dodgers owner Frank McCourt called off the auction and congratulated Walter. — Bill Shaikin, Los Angeles Times, 12 Aug. 2026 The longtime couple called off their engagement almost two years ago, according to Leigh Ann Caldwell, chief Washington correspondent at Puck. — Jessica Schladebeck, New York Daily News, 12 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for call off

Recent Examples of Synonyms for call off

Verb

Investigators say a tire was placed in the road in a plot to distract and kill Jared Bridegan, 33, in Jacksonville Beach in 2022.

— CBS News, CBS News, 17 Aug. 2026
Kiser’s husband, Brady Kiser, said he had been briefly distracted while watching Trigg while his wife was away.

— Shayna Jacobs, NBC news, 15 Aug. 2026

Definition of distract

Verb

Town leaders canceled their contract with Flock Safety, saying a legal review found the agreement violated state law.

— Tammy Mutasa, CBS News, 21 Aug. 2026
The franchise was canceled after a 2006 Texas operation in which Rockwall County assistant district attorney Louis Conradt died by suicide as authorities and the show’s crew closed in on his home.

— Clayton Davis, Variety, 21 Aug. 2026

Definition of cancel

Verb

After one unit went offline, the Romanian navy blasted riverbed rocks, dredged the channel, and sank barges filled with stones in an attempt to divert more water toward the plant and keep the other unit operating.

— , CNBC, 14 Aug. 2026
Taxpayers need to know that almost $200 million of their money has been diverted away from charging stations that could help make commuting with electric vehicles easier.

— Letters to the Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 13 Aug. 2026

Definition of divert

Verb

One particularly stubborn bottleneck automatically sent recruits who wore glasses for screening for rare disqualifying eye conditions, a requirement officials eventually scrapped.

— Steven Beynon, ABC News, 17 Aug. 2026
But local politicians and parties to the settlement say scrapping the Biden-era pact would require years of federal review and public engagement.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 16 Aug. 2026

Definition of scrap

Verb

In response to these findings, the Twin Rivers Unified School District voted in January to revoke the school’s charter.

— Alula Alderson, Sacbee.com, 19 Aug. 2026
Following the display, Budnik's official recognition was revoked and organizers sought the return of his physical gold medal, according to reports.

— Alejandro Avila OutKick, FOXNews.com, 19 Aug. 2026

Definition of revoke

Verb

This enables the operator to identify and track targets, launch precise attacks and abort the mission, if necessary in order to respond to changing operational conditions.

— Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 14 Aug. 2026
In May of last year, an Army helicopter that was instructed to fly over the Pentagon helipad forced controllers to order two flights to abort landings at Reagan National Airport to prevent collisions.

— Alexandra Skores, CNN Money, 13 Aug. 2026