1
as in turning back
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2
as in putting off
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Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for holding off
Verb
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William Johnston, an associate professor of religious studies at the University of Dayton, previously told USA TODAY that abstaining from eating meat is also a form of penance – admitting to any wrongdoings and sins while turning back to belief in God.—
Julia Gomez,
USA Today,
18 Feb. 2026 -
In one video clip, the suspect approaches the front door and raises a gloved hand to the camera outside the door before turning back.—
Alex Sundby,
CBS News,
17 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Among life’s great procrastinations, putting off making a will seems to top insignificant things like delaying cleaning the house or starting a homework assignment.—
Howard Cohen,
Miami Herald,
5 Feb. 2026
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Mahomes on Wednesday accidentally got Chiefs fans excited about Kelce putting off retirement and returning for one more season.—
Pete Grathoff,
Kansas City Star,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The individual, their face covered in a ski mask, appears to fiddle with the camera with a gloved hand before turning away to look for something to obscure the lens.—
Anna Kaufman,
USA Today,
11 Feb. 2026
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But these restrictions aren’t new, and even experts intimately familiar with GRFP don’t understand why NSF is currently turning away students.—
Jonathan Wosen,
STAT,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
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While that thankfully hasn't been the case this year, the county did have a hit-and-run involving a semi breaking off a snowplow mirror.—
Hope Karnopp,
jsonline.com,
4 Feb. 2026
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In that unlikely scenario, there would be a risk of debris breaking off the asteroid and hitting Earth.—
Chris Young,
Interesting Engineering,
28 Jan. 2026
Verb
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With the city well behind its housing goals and high construction costs shelving efforts to build, San Jose is considering expanding financial incentives to spur the next wave of development projects.—
Devan Patel,
Mercury News,
26 Jan. 2026
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The fiscal rationale for shelving the bill was never persuasive.—
Jeffrey Prang,
Daily News,
23 Jan. 2026
Verb
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But a longstanding feature of Nigerian elections includes delays in distributing voting materials on polling day and — during the 2023 ballot — glitchy equipment postponing the timely transmission of results.—
Alexander Onukwue,
semafor.com,
16 Feb. 2026
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Texas played twice because a line of storms swept across the Austin area Saturday, postponing a second game against Ohio State and canceling a second game against Syracuse.—
Thomas Jones,
Austin American Statesman,
16 Feb. 2026
Verb
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This biological bonding process creates natural mineral compounds, transforming bulky landfill waste into high-performance insulation capable of withstanding extreme heat up to 1,000°C (1,832°F).—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
5 Feb. 2026
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Other components, such as competitiveness, being hard on pucks and withstanding physicality, may just be a matter of on-the-job NHL training.—
Fluto Shinzawa,
New York Times,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Patients in Minnesota are canceling appointments and deferring critical health care needs because of fear of immigration enforcement as the federal crackdown continues, doctors say.—
Caroline Cummings,
CBS News,
6 Feb. 2026
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Just as financial advisors recommend deferring enough into a 401(k) plan to benefit from your employer's full matching contribution, there is no reason to pass this free money up.—
Jessica Dickler,Kate Dore, CFP®, EA,
CNBC,
26 Jan. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Holding off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/holding%20off. Accessed 23 Feb. 2026.
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