as in to hesitate
to come to a temporary halt in one's activity
he paused for a moment to regain his composure
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in lull
a momentary halt in an activity
there was a brief pause for applause in her speech
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in hesitation
a state or an instance of temporary inaction because of uncertainty about the right course of action
the question caught the professor off guard, and there was a pause before he responded
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of pause
Fousia Abdullahi, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 9 May 2026
Aging systems and appliances tend to raise red flags during inspections, giving buyers pause — and negotiating power.
—Sharon Wu, USA Today, 8 May 2026
Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 15 May 2026
Right-hander Triston McKenzie’s return to the majors is on pause.
—Jeff Sanders, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for pause
Verb
Traffic will be paused intermittently along FM 1709 between Randol Mill/Davis Boulevard and Peytonville.
—Fousia Abdullahi, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 9 May 2026
Aging systems and appliances tend to raise red flags during inspections, giving buyers pause — and negotiating power.
—Sharon Wu, USA Today, 8 May 2026
Noun
The pause in operations at Qatar’s Raas Laffan and Mesaieed LNG facilities in early March affected nearly a third of global helium supply.
—Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 15 May 2026
Right-hander Triston McKenzie’s return to the majors is on pause.
—Jeff Sanders, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for pause
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pause
Verb
-
And the Los Angeles Chargers didn’t hesitate on pulling the trigger.—
Greg Dudek,
Boston Herald,
15 May 2026
-
When leadership is too removed, teams hesitate.—
Sue Mysko,
Forbes.com,
15 May 2026
Noun
-
There’s typically an offseason lull with most players, so drops in price or sales volume aren’t abnormal this time of year for NFL players.—
Benjamin Burrows,
New York Times,
10 May 2026
-
Amana Images Inc Sometimes, a lull in the mortgage interest rate climate can be a good thing for borrowers.—
Matt Richardson,
CBS News,
8 May 2026
Noun
-
There can be apathy and hesitation.—
Nicole Fallert,
USA Today,
14 May 2026
-
For example, during his dominant, 18-point first quarter in the Spurs’ Game 5 win over the Timberwolves, on one play Wembanyama hit a combo of hesitation dribbles into a crossover into a spinning layup over Rudy Gobert.—
Rohan Nadkarni,
NBC news,
14 May 2026
Verb
-
The senior center fielder promptly broke his hamate bone against Lincoln-Way Central.—
Paul Johnson,
Chicago Tribune,
12 May 2026
-
Mamdani had spent the preceding weeks observing Ramadan alongside members of the city’s Muslim communities, breaking fast in iftar gatherings with union members or content creators.—
Molly Fischer,
New Yorker,
11 May 2026
Noun
-
From new recruits to grizzled vets, every character in this film regards Maverick as both a relic and a god (sometimes in the same breath).—
David Ehrlich,
IndieWire,
13 May 2026
-
Lindsay is telling him to calm down, take a deep breath, and chill out.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
13 May 2026
Noun
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The decline in vitamin K uptake is still believed to be related to vaccine and medicine hesitancy, according to both the JAMA study and ProPublica investigation.—
Mary Walrath-Holdridge,
USA Today,
8 May 2026
-
This hesitancy and worry about speaking up is the way free speech dies.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
6 May 2026
Noun
-
Assayas is, above all, an urbane filmmaker, with no room for discourse so crude or interruption so abrupt as to let the winds of history waft through his film unperfumed.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
13 May 2026
-
The interruption occurred Wednesday, and pressure has since been restored, according to an alert from the city.—
WCCO Staff,
CBS News,
13 May 2026
Noun
-
After a pause for the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, social hesitance was still evident and masks were incorporated into some of the night's designs.—
Luis Giraldo,
CBS News,
4 May 2026
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Sensing hesitance as well as incompetence, coaches and players alike tried to sway the flailing fill-ins at every turn.—
Michael Silver,
New York Times,
30 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Pause.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pause. Accessed 18 May. 2026.
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