HELD OFF Synonyms: 83 Similar and Opposite Words

held off

verb

past tense of hold off

as in turned back

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Dissimilar Words

as in put off

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Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for held off

Verb

The two giggled momentarily before Quiñonez turned back and answered candidly.

— Jake McCreven, Hartford Courant, 4 Oct. 2026
Tight end Travis Kelce looks like he’s turned back the clock for Kansas City, which is running the ball well.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2026

Definition of turned back

Verb

Some of them were put off by élite football’s deliberate lack of culture—staunch apoliticism is easy to sell to Sky Sports—and others had been priced out.

— Vanda Mayer, New Yorker, 6 Oct. 2026
But don’t be put off by produce that doesn’t look picture-perfect.

— Helen Carefoot, Flow Space, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of put off

Verb

The plane was told to wait for clearance from the Jordanian military and then turned away.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 1 Oct. 2026
While customers drawn by the deal monopolized tables to gorge on order after order of shrimp, restaurants ran out of shrimp and turned away regular customers.

— Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 1 Oct. 2026

Definition of turned away

Verb

In addition to Williams’ 22-yard touchdown, Jonaz Walton broke off a 44-yard run in the fourth quarter.

— Colleen Kane, Chicago Tribune, 2 Oct. 2026
On second down, wide receiver Malik Washington broke off a 30-yard reception after safety Alohi Gilman missed a tackle.

— Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 27 Sep. 2026

Definition of broke off

Verb

Baghdad has sought to bring weapons held by non-state groups under government control, but some of the most influential militias have resisted disarming.

— Bradford Betz, FOXNews.com, 30 Sep. 2026
Christian had refused to take his insulin and resisted going to the hospital, said Jennifer Trainor, the manager of Logos House.

— Joseph Shapiro, NPR, 30 Sep. 2026

Definition of resisted

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

Verb

The bill was opposed by business and technology trade groups along with major medical organizations, including the California Hospital Association, which argued the measure would get in the way of AI use that supports therapists.

— Stephen Hobbs, Sacbee.com, 2 Oct. 2026
The 5,670 figure appears to refer to the open letter organized by the Block the Merger coalition, signed by thousands of film and TV professionals opposed to the deal.

— Andrew McGowan, Fortune, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of opposed

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

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held (in)

held off

held off (on)

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

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Synonyms of held off

verb

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