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

But this is about Folk, the 41-year-old whose right leg could be the Falcons’ biggest point of improvement from last season and a 19-year veteran who has somehow, someway, turned back the clock.

— Daniel Flick, AJC.com, 6 Sep. 2026
The 42-year-old turned back the clock Sunday, with 10 strikeouts in seven scoreless innings against the Seattle Mariners.

— Mitch Bannon, New York Times, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of turned back

Verb

Poppe said the company was putting off $2 billion in work — not for wildfire mitigation or safety, but for housing developments, renewable energy projects and other efforts.

— Stephen Hobbs, Sacbee.com, 3 Sep. 2026
Diana and Lana’s trip was put off due to the death of Marks’s father in South Africa at the end of July.

— Allie Merriam, Vanity Fair, 1 Sep. 2026

Definition of put off

Verb

In three more states, many eligible families who applied were simply turned away.

— Moriah Balingit, Los Angeles Times, 3 Sep. 2026
Ultimately, Cramer said investors have turned away from the Magnificent Seven just as the companies could begin reaping the rewards of their massive AI investments.

— Alexa LoMonaco, CNBC, 3 Sep. 2026

Definition of turned away

Verb

Authorities have also warned of potential further collapse around the glacier on Langtang Lirung mountain in Nepal, which cracked and broke off, triggering the August 26 landslide and flooding.

— Simone McCarthy, CNN Money, 6 Sep. 2026
The mysterious glade is actually likely a piece of land that broke off from the reservoir’s shoreline as a result of record-high water levels this year.

— Mary Randolph, Scientific American, 2 Sep. 2026

Definition of broke off

Verb

After years staying in her home state during the pandemic, Hagerman has resisted the urge to upsize her house to keep rent costs down.

— Alex Harring, CNBC, 5 Sep. 2026
Chieftain Rajah Tupas resisted the Spanish for nearly a month before Legazpi bombarded local villages, forcing Tupas into a settlement.

— Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 5 Sep. 2026

Definition of resisted

Verb

When Ohtani sought a $700 million package that deferred 98 percent of the salary, Moreno declined to engage.

— Andy McCullough, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026
Suzy Batlle, who owns an ice cream shop on Southwest Eighth Street, said the plan feels rushed and asked that the planning board vote be deferred.

— Catherine Odom, Miami Herald, 3 Sep. 2026

Definition of deferred

Verb

With a recent Gallup poll showing that 75% of Democrats are opposed to data centers being built near them, presidential hopefuls will be jockeying to position themselves as the one who was against data centers earliest and most often.

— Patrick McNamara, Chicago Tribune, 6 Sep. 2026
Pancho opposed the fortification of the town, although most of his siblings supported it.

— Kate Linthicum, Los Angeles Times, 6 Sep. 2026

Definition of opposed

Verb

The Gulf’s conference season is usually packed into the cooler months, and the last quarter of 2026 is even more crammed because events in the spring were postponed due to the war.

— Manal Albarakati, semafor.com, 4 Sep. 2026
This Sunday’s game against Wisconsin at Lambeau Field in Green Bay was actually supposed to be played in 2020 but was postponed because of the pandemic’s disruption of nonconference schedules.

— Pete Sampson, New York Times, 3 Sep. 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 11 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of held off

verb

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