HOLDING OFF Synonyms: 82 Similar and Opposite Words

holding off

verb

present participle of hold off

as in turning back

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

as in putting off

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for holding off

Verb

The mansion was damaged during a Los Angeles-area coastal flooding advisory over lingering effects of Marie, which had been a hurricane before turning back into a tropical storm.

— ABC News, ABC News, 8 Sep. 2026
While her music has remained a fixture on country charts, the latest results show listeners are turning back to her catalog across formats and generations following her death.

— Anthony Thompson, USA Today, 2 Sep. 2026

Definition of turning back

Verb

Stop putting off that next step for your side hustle and find the perfect person to take your business to the next level.

— K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 9 Sep. 2026
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

Definition of putting off

Verb

This is not true; no technology or social evolution is inevitable, and even some young people are already turning away from them.

— New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 6 Sep. 2026
Almost half of traders, portfolio managers and strategists in a recent Bloomberg poll support wearing shorts to work, but men in Silicon Valley are turning away from the look of the scruffy tech genius in shorts and flip-flops.

— Brittney Melton, NPR, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of turning away

Verb

Experts believe Wednesday's mudslides and flash flooding across Nepal and China's Tibet region were caused by a large chunk of ice breaking off a glacier and falling into the Lhende Khola River.

— Robert McGreevy, FOXNews.com, 29 Aug. 2026
The AccuWeather team will be looking for smaller storm cells breaking off of the main line, which would give them freedom to begin rotating and potentially spin off a tornado funnel.

— Karl Hille, Baltimore Sun, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of breaking off

Verb

The dismissals varied but building a middle order capable of withstanding a spin barrage in helpful conditions is fundamental to England’s ambitions overseas.

— Ben Jones, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2026
Consider that a durable laptop capable of withstanding an accidental drop might be worth extra money.

— BestReviews, Mercury News, 10 Aug. 2026

Definition of withstanding

Verb

That iteration eventually led to Ron Funches taking over for Morgan, but then financing fell through, shelving the project indefinitely as of 2018.

— Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 27 Aug. 2026
Harrington broke the two metatarsal bones in his right foot in the seventh game last year, shelving him for 2 1/2 months.

— Paul Johnson, Chicago Tribune, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of shelving

Verb

Imagine trying not to blink, resisting the urge to sneeze or refusing to scratch an intense itch.

— Michael Okun, The Conversation, 9 Sep. 2026
The man is being held at the Chippewa County Jail and has been charged with operating under the influence of drugs, resisting and obstructing a police officer, assaulting a police officer and malicious destruction of police property.

— Paula Wethington, CBS News, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of resisting

Verb

Sports comes to a standstill after terrorism in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania, with major league baseball postponing a full schedule of regular-season games for the first time since D-Day in 1944.

— Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 11 Sep. 2026
If waiting several weeks means losing a customer, delaying a project or postponing growth, the lowest interest rate may not produce the lowest overall cost.

— Michael Shribman, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of postponing

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.

Cite this Entry

Style

“Holding off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/holding%20off. Accessed 13 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of holding off

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

shofar

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Popular in Wordplay

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Popular

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Games & Quizzes