HELD OFF (ON) Synonyms: 29 Similar and Opposite Words

held off (on)

verb

past tense of hold off (on)

as in postponed

to assign to a later time we held off on accepting the invitation in the hopes that something better would come along

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Recent Examples of Synonyms for held off (on)

Verb

That scheduled June 16-18 series in Atlanta was shortened to two games, with the June 18 game postponed to the end of this month.

— Curtis Pashelka, Mercury News, 25 Aug. 2026
Williams had initially postponed her return to her talk show in the fall of 2021 after testing positive for Covid.

— Armando Tinoco, Deadline, 24 Aug. 2026

Definition of postponed

Verb

Delane’s pro debut was delayed by a shoulder injury suffered in the spring, limiting his practice in OTAs and training camp.

— Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star, 25 Aug. 2026
Urgent repair projects will be delayed, construction costs will multiply, and the visitor experience will inevitably decline as facilities fall into disrepair, risking the safety of millions of tourists and residents alike.

— Lulu Vilas, Sun Sentinel, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of delayed

Verb

Recently released minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee's July meeting showed that the Fed deferred questions about its balance sheet until a task force Warsh has assigned to report on that issue comes back.

— Matt Peterson, CNBC, 20 Aug. 2026
If your team didn’t hand out $700 million IOUs deferred until the next century, your owner was just a cheap coward.

— Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 19 Aug. 2026

Definition of deferred

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held off

held off (on)

held on

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“Held off (on).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/held%20off%20%28on%29. Accessed 27 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of held off (on)

verb

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