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

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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

School has been back in session for weeks and the summer temps are steadily dropping, which means that there’s no reason to put off a September cleanout any longer.

— Sarah Lyon, Southern Living, 14 Sep. 2026
Analysts say the naira currency’s depreciation over the last three years, due to Nigeria’s economic policy revamp, highlights the macroeconomic risks that may put off investors in the economy, including in healthcare.

— Alexander Onukwue, semafor.com, 11 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

The university initially resisted the financial institution’s requests to open an account and to provide personal information of its then-chief financial officer, but ultimately gave in, Kraus said.

— Hayley Cuccinello, CNBC, 17 Sep. 2026
Then, his administration sent letters and filed lawsuits to push states to run their sensitive voter data through the tool – a prospect some states have agreed to, but many have resisted to keep their residents’ personal information secure.

— ABC News, ABC News, 15 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

One aspect of Lamont’s energy policy that Fazio declined to second-guess was the decision to sign a deal with Millstone, which was opposed by some Republicans at the time.

— John Moritz, Hartford Courant, 18 Sep. 2026
Kalshi’s announcement also follows a meeting between the CFTC and tribal representatives who are opposed to prediction markets, who reiterated their opposition to event contracts following the session.

— Dan Bernstein, Sportico.com, 18 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 20 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of held off

verb

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