held off

verb

past tense of hold off
1
as in turned back

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2
as in put off

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Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for held off
  1. turned back
  2. put off
  3. turned away
  4. broke off
  5. resisted
  6. deferred
  7. opposed
  8. postponed
Verb
  • Eventually, Guccione turned back on his stadium microphone and announced the run would count, leading to further boos.
    — Mitch Bannon, New York Times, 11 Aug. 2026
  • The proposal, which called for overhauling the judicial selection process and directly electing Supreme Court justices, was decisively turned back on Tuesday.
    — Ben Wheeler, Kansas City Star, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of turned back
Verb
  • Simply not responding is one way to avoid or put off having to deal with what may be an unwelcome request.
    — Austin Sarat, The Conversation, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Lower East Side handyman Raymond, meanwhile, was put off by the prices.
    — Anne Kadet, Curbed, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of put off
Verb
  • New Zealanders must now be registered and have their addresses and other details updated in the system 13 days before election day, or they will be turned away from polling places.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 10 Aug. 2026
  • The coroner’s report said that Khalil died in the evening from cardiac arrest due to head trauma and severe bleeding, hours after paramedics initially entered the area and were turned away, said Human Rights Watch’s Lebanon Researcher Ramzi Kaiss.
    — Kareem Chehayeb, Los Angeles Times, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of turned away
Verb
  • In March 2023, for instance, Honduras broke off formal relations with Taiwan and established ties with Beijing.
    — Natalia Cote-Muñoz, Foreign Affairs, 3 Aug. 2026
  • In the red zone a few plays later, veteran free agent addition Cobie Durant picked off a Dak Prescott pass intended for CeeDee Lamb in the end zone where Durant broke off his assignment with good instincts and easily picked it off.
    — Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of broke off
Verb
  • Habib, who joined the department in 2007, was responding to a 911 call at a Bronx catering hall in 2023 when a drunk and disorderly man resisted arrest, Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark said.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 13 Aug. 2026
  • When automobiles first came about, the island’s carriage drivers successfully resisted them.
    — Hannah Agran, Midwest Living, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of resisted
Verb
  • The warning underscores the narrowing political window for an issue Washington has repeatedly deferred.
    — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 14 Aug. 2026
  • Instead of barking back, his commander accepted the boundary and deferred the task to the following week.
    — Mark Nevins, Forbes.com, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of deferred
Verb
  • At a recent information session hosted by the county, about half of the people who delivered public comments were in favor of keeping the plant open, and half were vehemently opposed.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 16 Aug. 2026
  • Widely favored by environmentalists and government planners, the idea is generally opposed by real estate agents and anyone who owns a house or business at the beach.
    — Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Aug. 2026
Definition of opposed
Verb
  • Brook was set to face Eisa Al Dah in Dubai in a bout raising money for the Ricky Hatton Foundation, but the event was postponed and never rescheduled.
    — Brian Mazique, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026
  • The protests over the shooting led to several nearby community events being canceled or postponed.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of postponed
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.

Browse Nearby Words

held (in)
held off
held off (on)
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Cite this Entry

“Held off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/held%20off. Accessed 17 Aug. 2026.

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