HELD OFF (ON) Synonyms: 29 Similar and Opposite Words

held off (on)

verb

past tense of hold off (on)

as in postponed

to assign to a later time we held off on accepting the invitation in the hopes that something better would come along

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Recent Examples of Synonyms for held off (on)

Verb

Lee has demanded a review of the execution procedures and indefinitely postponed Pike's execution and another that had been scheduled for this year.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 3 Oct. 2026
His state trial, which includes a second-degree murder charge, was set to begin in September, but a judge postponed it to give prosecutors time to respond to a double jeopardy motion from his attorneys.

— Joe Kottke, NBC news, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of postponed

Verb

Oura was just one of several IPOs that have been delayed over the past month.

— Morgan Chittum, Fortune, 6 Oct. 2026
In the same week, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman unveiled Dots, the company pulled its latest AI model and delayed its IPO due to existential safety concerns around the very same AI agent tech.

— Amy O’Brien, Vogue, 6 Oct. 2026

Definition of delayed

Verb

The official causes of death for both were deferred, pending further investigation.

— Iris Kwok, Los Angeles Times, 3 Oct. 2026
That mandatory inclusion cannot be deferred again, but gain from a separate inclusion event may qualify for a new deferral if timely reinvested.

— Fernando Jimenez, Forbes.com, 28 Sep. 2026

Definition of deferred

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held off

held off (on)

held on

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“Held off (on).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/held%20off%20%28on%29. Accessed 8 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of held off (on)

verb

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