as in repeal
the act of putting an end to something planned or previously agreed to
the calling off of the senior prom is not going to go over well
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in distracting
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in canceling
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
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Recent Examples of calling off
Shelly Bradbury, Denver Post, 27 Oct. 2025
Years after calling off their first engagement, Affleck and Lopez reconnected then married in 2022.
—Sarah Jones, PEOPLE, 8 Sep. 2025
But lately, more buyers are calling off their deals to look for better ones.
—Lew Sichelman, Miami Herald, 29 Aug. 2025
In it, Belly (Lola Tung) is headed to Paris after calling off her wedding to Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno), unsure what the future holds for her.
—Katie Campione, Deadline, 29 Aug. 2025
They were engaged for nearly a year before calling off their wedding less than one month before the date.
—Ryan Morik, FOXNews.com, 5 Aug. 2025
Verb
Coffman said that shows officers and their supervisors are judiciously calling off pursuits that become too dangerous.
—Shelly Bradbury, Denver Post, 27 Oct. 2025
Years after calling off their first engagement, Affleck and Lopez reconnected then married in 2022.
—Sarah Jones, PEOPLE, 8 Sep. 2025
But lately, more buyers are calling off their deals to look for better ones.
—Lew Sichelman, Miami Herald, 29 Aug. 2025
In it, Belly (Lola Tung) is headed to Paris after calling off her wedding to Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno), unsure what the future holds for her.
—Katie Campione, Deadline, 29 Aug. 2025
They were engaged for nearly a year before calling off their wedding less than one month before the date.
—Ryan Morik, FOXNews.com, 5 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for calling off
Noun
-
Democrats have refused to vote for an end to the shutdown until Republicans repeal cutbacks made this summer that would kick millions off Medicaid and end insurance subsidies set to expire at the end of the calendar year.—
Katie Wiseman,
IndyStar,
4 Nov. 2025
-
These partial repeals were less effective, producing smaller and less persistent increases in vaccination rates than those from total repeal.—
Anthony Bald,
The Conversation,
3 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Karbler notes that Bigelow resisted that depiction for fear of distracting from the emotional moment.—
Jake Kring-Schreifels,
Time,
27 Oct. 2025
-
Surprisingly, the injury helped him in this regard by distracting him from overanalyzing his game.—
Devlina Sarkar,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Many Latinos are canceling doctor appointments to head off possible confrontation with immigration enforcement officials.—
Phillip Reese,
CNN Money,
5 Nov. 2025
-
The Ali airport also shutdown overnight, canceling 21 flights or 16% of the day's total flights, according to the airport's executive director Dann Mann.—
Connor Giffin,
Louisville Courier Journal,
5 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Despite the 2025 report (read it here) showing a slight uptick from last year’s 468 to 489 LGBTQ characters across all platforms, that number takes a major blow as more than 200 (41%) of those characters will not return, due to series cancellations, endings or limited series format.—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
6 Nov. 2025
-
But finding another seat can be difficult, especially if this lasts into the holidays, or if bad weather causes flight cancellations elsewhere.—
Chris Isidore,
CNN Money,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
The plan included launching a mobile booking station to quickly issue citations, stricter curfew and firearm enforcement, and increasing police presence by diverting patrol officers to high-traffic entertainment areas.—
Angelika Ytuarte,
jsonline.com,
22 Oct. 2025
-
In total, Alex was found to have embezzled more than $6 million from at least two dozen clients, inflating fees or expenses and diverting settlement money into his own accounts, per PBS.—
Samantha Stutsman,
PEOPLE,
22 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Labour will be very wary of abandoning its election manifesto promise not to raise income tax, however, and any moves to do so will leave the party wide open to attacks from opponents such as the Conservatives and increasingly popular party, Reform.—
Holly Ellyatt,
CNBC,
4 Nov. 2025
-
Perhaps the biggest name to distance itself from BHV is Disney, with Disneyland Paris abandoning plans to design BHV’s famous Christmas window displays this year, according to CNN affiliate BFMTV.—
Joseph Ataman,
CNN Money,
4 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Advertisement Mamdani’s vision of an equitable, affordable urbanity emerges as a challenge to this long history of abandonment and exclusion.—
Fahad Zuberi,
Time,
5 Nov. 2025
-
Cue, Helm’s first rejection, abandonment, difficult emotions.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
The next step for Horton, who’s recovering from a fractured right rib, will be throwing off a mound on Tuesday at Wrigley Field.—
Andy McCullough,
New York Times,
7 Oct. 2025
-
What's throwing off the seasons?—
N'dea Yancey-Bragg,
USA Today,
22 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Calling off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/calling%20off. Accessed 8 Nov. 2025.
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