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

Relevance

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 Central Park Conservancy, which operates the park, agreed calling off the concert was the right move. — Thomas Tracy, New York Daily News, 25 Sep. 2026 The pair called off their engagement in March, just a month before they were slated to marry in Italy. — Tabitha Parent, PEOPLE, 25 Sep. 2026 After Gillette Stadium owner Kraft threatened to call off Sheeran’s Boston tour dates at his venue amid supporting act Macklemore’s pro-Palestine comments, the concerts were canceled in light of the severe nor’easter making its way to New England. — Leigh Blickley, Entertainment Weekly, 25 Sep. 2026 According to a report from Marc Weiszer of the Athens Banner-Herald, Georgia and Clemson mutually agreed to call off the four nonconference games scheduled to be played on campus from 2029 through 2033. — Connor Riley, AJC.com, 22 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for call off

Recent Examples of Synonyms for call off

Verb

The text was crisp and easy to read, the matte display minimized distracting reflections, and the ink paper mode made reading comfortable.

— Kimberly Gedeon, PC Magazine, 27 Sep. 2026
Some belongings are too personal, while others require an extra layer of protection Realtors can’t provide, and a few seemingly harmless items can distract buyers from your home entirely.

— Quincy Bulin, Southern Living, 26 Sep. 2026

Definition of distract

Verb

Cage previously starred in the first two Ghost Rider movies, a franchise now being revived by Ryan Gosling, and as Spider-Noir in both the animated Beyond the Spider-Verse films and the live-action series Prime Video just canceled.

— Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 1 Oct. 2026
One Elk Grove City Council race is on the ballot this November, after two other races were canceled and the incumbents were appointed to new terms because no challengers filed to run.

— Camryn Dadey, Sacbee.com, 1 Oct. 2026

Definition of cancel

Verb

In one case this summer, water from a natural spring to the Palestinian village of Fasayil was illegally diverted to an ancient pool nearby.

— Melanie Lidman, Los Angeles Times, 26 Sep. 2026
Or a plot to divert attention from Murphy’s blasphemy of her famously lucky number 13?

— Isabella Albaig, Vulture, 25 Sep. 2026

Definition of divert

Verb

Joe Raedle/Getty Images A North Miami Beach, Florida, mom is facing child neglect charges after allegedly abandoning her four children -- including a 2-month-old and a 2-year-old -- to go on a cruise to the Bahamas, according to court documents.

— Clara McMichael, ABC News, 29 Sep. 2026
Meanwhile, the prime minister is having to claw back progressives who defected to the Green Party as left-wing factions abandoned Starmer’s Labour over the party’s stance on issues like net zero and the Gaza conflict.

— Billy Stockwell, CNN Money, 29 Sep. 2026

Definition of abandon

Verb

But the movement of Earth’s mantle and rocky crust can make some areas denser than others and throw off the planet’s balance.

— Jacek Krywko, Scientific American, 1 Oct. 2026
But Paulina’s plans are thrown off when new student Ericka (the emerging star Jasmine Amy Rogers) arrives from America.

— Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 1 Oct. 2026

Definition of throw off

Verb

In 2021, Cruz sought to revoke Major League Baseball’s century-old antitrust immunity after the MLB decided to move its All-Star Game from Atlanta in response to a new Georgia voting law civil rights groups had criticized as restrictive.

— Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 28 Sep. 2026
And in 2018 the administration revoked the credentials of CNN’s Jim Acosta, who successfully challenged his exclusion in court, a sequence that was repeated this week.

— Orlando Sentinel, The Orlando Sentinel, 25 Sep. 2026

Definition of revoke

Verb

Flight-recorder data showed the pilots tried in the last seconds to lift off again to attempt to abort the landing and try again, but there was not enough runway left.

— David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 11 Sep. 2026
Fifteen seconds after touching down, one of the pilots called for aborting the landing and the engine throttles were increased to a value consistent with go-around thrust, the NTSB said.

— Glenn Taylor, Footwear News, 10 Sep. 2026

Definition of abort

Cite this Entry

Style

“Call off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/call%20off. Accessed 3 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of call off

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

tittle

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Popular in Wordplay

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Oct. 2

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

Games & Quizzes