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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for held off (on)
  1. postponed
  2. delayed
  3. deferred
Verb
  • In February, Discord postponed its controversial age verification policy after receiving backlash from users with concerns about their privacy.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 17 Aug. 2026
  • An initial public offering for the missile business has been postponed from the latter half of 2026 until mid-2027.
    — Dan Mangan, CNBC, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of postponed
Verb
  • According to the flight tracking website FlightAware, 45% of flights in and out of Chicago O'Hare International Airport were delayed on Tuesday, and 10% were canceled.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 11 Aug. 2026
  • Each step introduces friction — points where patients may be delayed, confused, or lost in the process entirely.
    — Jeffrey Millstein, STAT, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of delayed
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
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.

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

“Held off (on).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/held%20off%20%28on%29. Accessed 18 Aug. 2026.

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