1
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
2
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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of call off
Police called off their pursuit of Cook over safety concerns, but found his vehicle abandoned in a neighborhood less than a mile away.
—
Alex Brizee, Idaho Statesman, 11 Sep. 2025
To call off the project now, as many of its detractors in the White House desire, would waste years of advancement.
—Theo Burman, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Sep. 2025
While visiting their mom's grave on the fifth anniversary of her death, the estranged brothers talk for the first time since Conrad's last-minute confession of love spurred Belly to call off her wedding to Jeremiah, and amidst the anger, Jeremiah gave Conrad his pseudo permission to pursue Belly.
—Julia Moore, People.com, 11 Sep. 2025
Then in June, the project was called off.
—David Gelles, Time, 9 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for call off
Alex Brizee, Idaho Statesman, 11 Sep. 2025
To call off the project now, as many of its detractors in the White House desire, would waste years of advancement.
—Theo Burman, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Sep. 2025
While visiting their mom's grave on the fifth anniversary of her death, the estranged brothers talk for the first time since Conrad's last-minute confession of love spurred Belly to call off her wedding to Jeremiah, and amidst the anger, Jeremiah gave Conrad his pseudo permission to pursue Belly.
—Julia Moore, People.com, 11 Sep. 2025
Then in June, the project was called off.
—David Gelles, Time, 9 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for call off
Recent Examples of Synonyms for call off
Verb
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To many climate advocates, focusing too much on measures to prepare society for the physical costs of climate change risked distracting from efforts to cut emissions.—
Justin Worland,
Time,
3 Oct. 2025
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Critics, though, have argued that these efforts are serving to distract from the country’s record of repressing free speech and dissent, as well as human rights violations, which have been widely reported.—
Marni Rose McFall,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Oct. 2025
Verb
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An upcoming Chris Brown concert, scheduled to take place in Memphis, Tennessee, has been cancelled two weeks ahead of showtime.—
John Beifuss,
USA Today,
4 Oct. 2025
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Future Ruins, the inaugural film-music festival run by Oscar-winning duo Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, has been canceled.—
Mitchell Peters,
Billboard,
4 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The airport has been nearly 20 years in the making, a process that involved flattening hills, diverting rivers and bridging creeks.—
Ayushi Shah,
CNN Money,
8 Oct. 2025
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In a similar incident that took place earlier this year, a 67-year-old woman reportedly died on an easyJet flight, causing the plane to be diverted mid-air.—
David Chiu,
PEOPLE,
7 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The floater that has been such a huge part of his game abandoned him.—
Jon Krawczynski,
New York Times,
2 Oct. 2025
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Twenty years prior to the present day of the movie, Ray Stoker (Day-Lewis) abandoned his family to live off the grid in a hut in the woods after a scarring incident during the conflict, which pitted Catholics against Protestants within Northern Ireland, and union loyalists against republicans.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
2 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Horton threw off flat ground on Friday and Saturday before the playoffs started and had hoped to throw from the mound last Sunday.—
Sahadev Sharma,
New York Times,
4 Oct. 2025
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Neuroscientists are only scratching the surface of what happens when the networks are thrown off balance, but the work could lead to more treatments to fix them, Cembrowski said.—
Yasemin Saplakoglu,
Quanta Magazine,
29 Sep. 2025
Verb
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François Bayrou quit last month after trying to push through a savings plan that included scrapping two public holidays and freezing public spending.—
Ana Nicolaci da Costa,
CNN Money,
8 Oct. 2025
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There were additional plans to film a retrospective episode, but that was also scrapped.—
Natalie Oganesyan,
Deadline,
6 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Prosecutors sought to detain seven of the 11 individuals without bail and to detain another in custody via a motion to revoke his current felony probation.—
Barnini Chakraborty,
The Washington Examiner,
6 Oct. 2025
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Republicans in Congress called for the Attorney General to revoke her passport and cancel his visa.—
Rob Sheffield,
Rolling Stone,
4 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The American Airlines jet was going at a speed of around 154 mph and was nearly airborne when the controller immediately instructed the plane to abort takeoff.—
Ayesha Ali,
ABC News,
29 Sep. 2025
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The maneuver came a day after a first attempt at the reboost was aborted after it was noticed a change of fuel tanks did not take place as expected.—
Robert Z. Pearlman,
Space.com,
28 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Call off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/call%20off. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.
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