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
  • Shopify shoppers turned back the clock to invest in simpler things including better sleep, dumb phones, and fixing old devices instead of just buying new ones, according to June sales data shared first with Retail Brew.
    — Vidhi Choudhary, Fortune, 7 July 2026
  • The conversation turned back to what has changed in how distribution has evolved internationally, due to streaming.
    — Kambole Campbell, Variety, 6 July 2026
Definition of turned back
Verb
  • Mills initially expressed ambivalence about the race and put off a decision until last fall.
    — Elaine Godfrey, The Atlantic, 9 July 2026
  • Consultant and lecturer Schwope expects much less drastic action, and any decisions will likely be put off until the 2030s.
    — Neil Winton, Forbes.com, 7 July 2026
Definition of put off
Verb
  • But Cece found her in a nightgown, turned away from her screens, facing a small gray orb on the floor.
    — Jessica Contrera, New Yorker, 13 July 2026
  • Spain, among the pre-tournament favorites, were held to a goalless draw by first-time World Cup qualifier Cape Verde, whose 40-year-old goalkeeper Vozinha turned away 27 shots.
    — Daniel Ross Goodman, The Washington Examiner, 11 July 2026
Definition of turned away
Verb
  • Moorby broke off the left wing and combined with his Hurricanes teammate, scrumhalf Cam Roigard to score two minutes after the resumption.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 11 July 2026
  • The Italian shipwreck that killed 32 people Local media in Greece reported that a piece of engine broke off and smashed a window during the flight on Friday, causing the cabin to decompress and sucking one passenger partially out of the window.
    — Renee Maltezou, USA Today, 10 July 2026
Definition of broke off
Verb
  • Her rebuke comes as Caribbean leaders meet under the Caricom bloc and launch a new slavery reparations manifesto, pressing Britain for apologies, debt cancellation and other measures long resisted in London.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 10 July 2026
  • According to state police, Rice allegedly resisted arrest and engaged troopers in a pursuit.
    — Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 9 July 2026
Definition of resisted
Verb
  • In June, Oceanside’s City Council voted unanimously to exempt multiple sites from the law and deferred others from high-density zoning until 2032, relying on carve-outs for areas with existing housing capacity, lack of walking paths and more.
    — Lucas Robinson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 July 2026
  • The mayor’s bond proposal had been deferred three times prior to Thursday’s meeting.
    — Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 10 July 2026
Definition of deferred
Verb
  • All Democrats in Congress vehemently opposed the bill and three Senate Republicans—Susan Collins of Maine, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Thom Tillis of North Carolina—voted against it.
    — Mary Whitfill Roeloffs, Forbes.com, 4 July 2026
  • Mayor Rusty Knox has been one of the voices opposed to expanding the lanes.
    — Michael Praats, Charlotte Observer, 4 July 2026
Definition of opposed
Verb
  • Amid the dispute, some concerts at the Barn have continued, but several Helm Family Midnight Ramble shows — a special concert series that Helm himself launched in 2004 to stave off foreclosure — have been postponed.
    — Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 13 July 2026
  • Its fundraising concerts, popular affairs in the Hudson Valley known as Midnight Rambles — which have recently featured Amy’s stepfather, Donald Fagen, laying down some Bob Dylan tunes — have been postponed in the interim.
    — Devon Ivie, Vulture, 13 July 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 15 Jul. 2026.

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