as in hesitated
to come to a temporary halt in one's activity
he paused for a moment to regain his composure
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Recent Examples of paused
The four-time Grammy winner appeared uncomfortable and paused before responding.
—
Marina Watts, PEOPLE, 1 Oct. 2025
Students crowded around dormitory screens, a wedding paused for the final kick, and car horns rang out as flags streamed from open windows.
—Nina Subkhanberdina, CNN Money, 30 Sep. 2025
However, benefit verification, card issuance, and other administrative functions could be paused.
—Hollie Silverman, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Sep. 2025
At the time, the artist paused the song mid-lyrics to talk to her keyboardist, but collapsed shortly thereafter.
—Greg Evans, Deadline, 30 Sep. 2025
Lightfoot asked Friesen to turn the lights down, which set the mood, then paused, closed his eyes, and started strumming the song’s first notes.
—John U. Bacon, Rolling Stone, 30 Sep. 2025
Kelly Ripa paused Live to fish a microphone out of her blouse.
—Joey Nolfi, Entertainment Weekly, 30 Sep. 2025
All work by the Minnesota Department of Transportation was paused Monday to honor two construction contractors killed last week and to focus on improving safety in work zones, authorities said.
—Kristi Miller, Twin Cities, 30 Sep. 2025
The vineyard briefly paused public live music events from 2018 to 2020.
—Alysa Guffey, IndyStar, 29 Sep. 2025
Marina Watts, PEOPLE, 1 Oct. 2025
Students crowded around dormitory screens, a wedding paused for the final kick, and car horns rang out as flags streamed from open windows.
—Nina Subkhanberdina, CNN Money, 30 Sep. 2025
However, benefit verification, card issuance, and other administrative functions could be paused.
—Hollie Silverman, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Sep. 2025
At the time, the artist paused the song mid-lyrics to talk to her keyboardist, but collapsed shortly thereafter.
—Greg Evans, Deadline, 30 Sep. 2025
Lightfoot asked Friesen to turn the lights down, which set the mood, then paused, closed his eyes, and started strumming the song’s first notes.
—John U. Bacon, Rolling Stone, 30 Sep. 2025
Kelly Ripa paused Live to fish a microphone out of her blouse.
—Joey Nolfi, Entertainment Weekly, 30 Sep. 2025
All work by the Minnesota Department of Transportation was paused Monday to honor two construction contractors killed last week and to focus on improving safety in work zones, authorities said.
—Kristi Miller, Twin Cities, 30 Sep. 2025
The vineyard briefly paused public live music events from 2018 to 2020.
—Alysa Guffey, IndyStar, 29 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for paused
hesitated
Verb
-
The international community has not hesitated to recognize genocide in other contexts.—
Faisal Kutty,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 Sep. 2025
-
Democrats who come off poorly in it have not hesitated to disagree with her.—
David Weigel,
semafor.com,
22 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Paused.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/paused. Accessed 6 Oct. 2025.
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