Synonyms of pauses

pauses 1 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of pause

as in hesitates

to come to a temporary halt in one's activity

he paused for a moment to regain his composure

Synonyms & Similar Words

• hesitates
• breaks
• interrupts
• stops
• finishes
• catches one's breath
• holds one's horses
• ceases
• ends
• terminates
• breaks in
• lapses
• discontinues
• lays off
• quits
• knocks off
• lets up

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• continues
• persists
• advances
• progresses
• extends
• stretches
• prolongs

pauses

2 of 2

noun

plural of pause

as in lulls

a momentary halt in an activity

there was a brief pause for applause in her speech

Synonyms & Similar Words

• lulls
• breaths
• interruptions
• breaks
• recesses
• intervals
• rests
• breathers
• intermissions
• interludes
• respites
• stoppages
• gaps
• suspensions
• lapses
• hitches
• time-outs
• cessations
• hiatuses
• downtimes
• endings
• interims
• discontinuances
• terminations
• discontinuities
• expirations
• moratoriums
• abeyances
• surceases

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• progresses
• continuations
• progressions
• extensions
• prolongations
• endurances
• persistences

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of pauses

Verb

As the Air Force pauses flight test operations at the base, the investigation is expected to focus heavily on the aircraft's takeoff, looking for potential engine failures or controllability issues. —Alexandra Koch, FOXNews.com, 17 June 2026

Then Jaimoe pauses, flashes a quick, playful grin, and rolls his right pant leg up to his knee. —David Browne, Rolling Stone, 12 June 2026

Before ascending, Turull pauses at an enormous seashell — a real one, not made of stone — that serves as a basin for holy water. —ABC News, 9 June 2026

Queen Anne's County pauses data center development During the 12-month pause, the county will research and evaluate potential impacts that data centers could have on local infrastructure, land use, utilities and environmental resources. —Jt Moodee Lockman, CBS News, 4 June 2026

Remembering that moment, Grohl pauses to consider. —Rachel Brodsky, Los Angeles Times, 29 May 2026

In addition, pauses during scans dropped by 63 percent. —Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 28 May 2026

Road closures around Mill Street in Westport will disappear — temporarily — as ongoing construction pauses ahead of the FIFA World Cup, offering a reprieve for Westport visitors. —Chris Higgins, Kansas City Star, 27 May 2026

When breaching a budget actually pauses releases, reliability stops being an ops problem and becomes everyone’s problem. —Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 26 May 2026

Noun

New Citadel employees learn not to fill in those pauses. —Gary Sernovitz, New Yorker, 15 June 2026

Speakers left pauses for imaginary conversational partners to respond, as if observing real turn-taking conventions. —Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 14 June 2026

Since the clock doesn't stop during a match, this accounts for the pauses in play. —Mike Toole, CBS News, 13 June 2026

Pepper’s slow pace, long pauses before taking a turn, and apparent determination to win often clashed with participants’ expectations of how a human-like playmate should behave. —Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 12 June 2026

Frequent pauses and word-finding struggles were linked to lower executive function in a new study. —Laura Bradley, Health, 9 June 2026

These are almost always extra minutes at the end of each half — the exact number is decided by the referee — to compensate for pauses through injuries, goal celebrations and more. —Eduardo Tansley, New York Times, 8 June 2026

Anthropic, one of OpenAI’s top competitors, has proposed mechanisms for coordinating pauses on advanced AI development if systems become too powerful. —ABC News, 6 June 2026

Anthropic, one of OpenAI’s top competitors, has proposed mechanisms for coordinating pauses on advanced AI development if systems become too powerful. —Joey Cappelletti, Fortune, 5 June 2026