calls off

verb

present tense third-person singular of call off
1
as in distracts
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 cancels
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 calls off The president calls off plans to send the National Guard to San Francisco. — Christian Orozco, NBC news, 24 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for calls off
  1. distracts
  2. cancels
  3. diverts
  4. abandons
  5. throws off
  6. scraps
  7. detracts
  8. revokes
Verb
  • Often, undercapitalization is a major challenge for new franchisees and distracts from operations.
    — Angelo Chavez, Forbes.com, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Scientists now are spending an increasing amount of time worrying about keeping the lights on and people employed, which ultimately distracts from time spent doing research.
    — Abdullah Shihipar, STAT, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of distracts
Verb
  • That largely cancels the trade winds that usually push warm water toward Asia.
    — Sean Macaday, Sacbee.com, 27 Sep. 2026
  • Under Department of Transportation guidelines, a traveler is entitled to a refund regardless of the reason if an airline cancels a flight, and the customer chooses not to travel.
    — Ayesha Ali, ABC News, 26 Sep. 2026
Definition of cancels
Verb
  • Providing false or misleading information to law enforcement undermines those efforts and unnecessarily diverts officers and resources away from members of our community who may need immediate police assistance.
    — Brie Stimson, FOXNews.com, 19 Sep. 2026
  • Instead, your body diverts its limited calories elsewhere, pushing hair follicles into a two- to four-month resting phase before hair eventually sheds.
    — Maggie Ryan, Flow Space, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of diverts
Verb
  • Bonny abandons her film, recognizing how its obscuring her filial understanding.
    — Ryan Chapman, Literary Hub, 30 Sep. 2026
  • As Washington abandons talks with Iran for an aggressive economic pressure campaign, a cornered Tehran is now threatening military escalation and a wider war to force negotiators back to the table.
    — Mostafa Salem, CNN Money, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of abandons
Verb
  • Loading up the chest throws off a woman’s natural movement pattern and can lead to injury.
    — Helen Carefoot, Flow Space, 20 Aug. 2026
  • At $6,500 of daily volume, a 10% tax throws off something like $650 a day.
    — Boaz Sobrado, Forbes.com, 2 Aug. 2026
Definition of throws off
Verb
  • The pair of bills scraps the state’s ban on community colleges offering any bachelor’s degree already available at CSU or UC, and replaces it with a system built around regional workforce needs and a district college’s performance.
    — Jaweed Kaleem, Los Angeles Times, 19 Sep. 2026
  • Now, so this rule changes that policy and pretty much scraps the requirement for those interviews to take place, which are really kind of integral to the process.
    — Dana Taylor, USA Today, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of scraps
Verb
  • If the expansion detracts somehow from the SARA cult fever, the co-owners are OK with that.
    — Senior Wine Critic, San Francisco Chronicle, 15 June 2017
Definition of detracts
Verb
  • When vulnerabilities are found in shims, Microsoft revokes them.
    — Dan Goodin, ArsTechnica, 14 July 2026
  • The Netherlands is the only EU country that automatically revokes the citizenship of its nationals in the event of gaining dual nationality with a non-EU country.
    — Colin Millar, New York Times, 1 May 2026
Definition of revokes

Browse Nearby Words

calls in question
calls off
calls (off or out)
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Cite this Entry

“Calls off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/calls%20off. Accessed 5 Oct. 2026.

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