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
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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
Lexy Perez, HollywoodReporter, 15 Apr. 2026
The recent release of video from the incident led to ABC calling off Paul’s season of The Bachelorette right before it was set to premiere.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 7 Apr. 2026
In a statement, DHS told WJZ that nearly 500 TSA officers have quit during the shutdown, and thousands more are calling off work.
—Tara Lynch, CBS News, 27 Mar. 2026
An increasing number of TSA officers have been calling off work, leading to staffing shortages inside airport security and lengthy screening lines at some airports.
—Gloria Pazmino, CNN Money, 23 Mar. 2026
Yet calling off the face-to-face visit with Chinese President Xi Jinping could have its own major economic consequences as relations between the world's two biggest economies remain fraught over tariffs and other issues.
—Arkansas Online, 17 Mar. 2026
The news that Glass was calling off his appearance also caught off guard the National Symphony Orchestra.
—Jessica Gelt, Los Angeles Times, 27 Jan. 2026
The university cited budget cuts as the reason for calling off this year's dinner for the first time in its almost 60-year history, according to a letter posted by the Black Student Union.
—Heather Bushman, IndyStar, 16 Jan. 2026
Coffman said that shows officers and their supervisors are judiciously calling off pursuits that become too dangerous.
—Shelly Bradbury, Denver Post, 27 Oct. 2025
Verb
In her interviews, Kardashian recalls her experience which included taking care of him after his overdose and even calling off their divorce proceedings amid his recovery.
—Lexy Perez, HollywoodReporter, 15 Apr. 2026
The recent release of video from the incident led to ABC calling off Paul’s season of The Bachelorette right before it was set to premiere.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 7 Apr. 2026
In a statement, DHS told WJZ that nearly 500 TSA officers have quit during the shutdown, and thousands more are calling off work.
—Tara Lynch, CBS News, 27 Mar. 2026
An increasing number of TSA officers have been calling off work, leading to staffing shortages inside airport security and lengthy screening lines at some airports.
—Gloria Pazmino, CNN Money, 23 Mar. 2026
Yet calling off the face-to-face visit with Chinese President Xi Jinping could have its own major economic consequences as relations between the world's two biggest economies remain fraught over tariffs and other issues.
—Arkansas Online, 17 Mar. 2026
The news that Glass was calling off his appearance also caught off guard the National Symphony Orchestra.
—Jessica Gelt, Los Angeles Times, 27 Jan. 2026
The university cited budget cuts as the reason for calling off this year's dinner for the first time in its almost 60-year history, according to a letter posted by the Black Student Union.
—Heather Bushman, IndyStar, 16 Jan. 2026
Coffman said that shows officers and their supervisors are judiciously calling off pursuits that become too dangerous.
—Shelly Bradbury, Denver Post, 27 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for calling off
Noun
-
For Max Relouzat, 81, president of the Association for the Memory of Slaveries, the repeal matters, because so little else has.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
27 May 2026
-
Tiki huts have been with us ever since the repeal of Prohibition in 1933, but really took off in the United States after World War II.—
Rod Stafford Hagwood,
Sun Sentinel,
26 May 2026
Verb
-
People who attend the trial will also be prohibited from reacting, gesturing, wearing distracting clothing or otherwise disrupting the proceedings.—
Matthew Ablon,
CBS News,
1 June 2026
-
If anything, Horvath writes, ed tech broke American schools by pitching distracting multimedia to boost learning.—
Tyler Kingkade,
NBC news,
31 May 2026
Verb
-
The reason the Home Office cited for cancelling their electronic travel authorizations, or ETAs?—
Jada Yuan,
HollywoodReporter,
4 June 2026
-
Jamaica, Guyana, Guatemala and even Venezuela – which has seen by far the largest deployment of Cuban doctors in the past 20 years – have also severed or are in the process of cancelling their contracts with the Cuban medical missions.—
Stefano Pozzebon,
CNN Money,
3 June 2026
Noun
-
José Palma, national coordinator of the National TPS Alliance — an advocacy group that has fought in federal courts against the cancellation of TPS for several countries—welcomed the extension of protections for the Lebanese.—
Gisela Salomon,
Los Angeles Times,
29 May 2026
-
Their effort prompted a 7 1/2-month strike that forced the cancellation of the World Series for the first time in 90 years.—
Ronald Blum,
Fortune,
29 May 2026
Verb
-
City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto has also vowed to prevent LA28 from diverting money to a Legacy Fund before reimbursing Los Angeles for all expenses.—
The Editorial Board,
Daily News,
28 May 2026
-
The show’s studio, 20th Television Animation, kept the annual output relatively steady, diverting the surplus episodes to its streaming platforms.—
Nellie Andreeva,
Deadline,
28 May 2026
Verb
-
These networks are viewed with less enthusiasm in the age of streaming, because more consumers are abandoning their cable subscriptions in favor of streaming services.—
Brian Steinberg,
Variety,
3 June 2026
-
Blanche said later at the hearing that the DOJ wasn't abandoning the tax portion of the settlement.—
Aysha Bagchi,
USA Today,
2 June 2026
Noun
-
Building on its successful rollout in Brazil, Juspay is expanding Click to Pay globally to eliminate manual card entry, which minimizes checkout friction, reduces cart abandonment and boosts conversion rates.—
Arthur Zaczkiewicz,
Footwear News,
4 June 2026
-
Leonard previously pleaded guilty to abandonment of a corpse for dumping the boy’s body in Bates County, Missouri, and was sentenced to four years, though the new case records have not been made available on the Kansas Judicial Branch public database.—
Ian Cummings,
Kansas City Star,
4 June 2026
Verb
-
Your schedule, routines or work environment could feel especially chaotic today, with interruptions throwing off your modus operandi and usual sense of control.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
22 May 2026
-
Otherwise, there was little evidence of factors that might be throwing off the results.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
29 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Calling off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/calling%20off. Accessed 7 Jun. 2026.
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