as in hesitating
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 pausing
And Charlotte City Council is on the brink of pausing accepting or approving data center projects to provide time for impact studies and possibly regulations.
—
Charlotte Observer, 13 May 2026
Congress would need to approve pausing the federal gas tax.
—Jeff Wagner, CBS News, 13 May 2026
Republicans are exploring pausing the federal gas tax in an effort to provide voters relief as prices at the pump soar due to the war in Iran.
—Hailey Bullis, The Washington Examiner, 11 May 2026
Experts also recommend pausing to check the video’s sources.
—ABC News, 9 May 2026
The concept of everyone coming together for one evening — and pausing their competition for the good of the overall TV business — had some legs.
—Michael Schneider, Variety, 7 May 2026
Nearly two years have elapsed since Virgin Galactic last flew civilian passengers to space in June 2024 before pausing its spaceflight program.
—Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 6 May 2026
However, Xbox is clearly pausing any AI plans to refocus on attracting gamers to its consoles and services.
—James Peckham, PC Magazine, 6 May 2026
The hours are long and constant, beginning before dawn and not so much ending as pausing between whatever race, workout, catastrophe, or vet visit is next on the calendar.
—Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 2 May 2026
Charlotte Observer, 13 May 2026
Congress would need to approve pausing the federal gas tax.
—Jeff Wagner, CBS News, 13 May 2026
Republicans are exploring pausing the federal gas tax in an effort to provide voters relief as prices at the pump soar due to the war in Iran.
—Hailey Bullis, The Washington Examiner, 11 May 2026
Experts also recommend pausing to check the video’s sources.
—ABC News, 9 May 2026
The concept of everyone coming together for one evening — and pausing their competition for the good of the overall TV business — had some legs.
—Michael Schneider, Variety, 7 May 2026
Nearly two years have elapsed since Virgin Galactic last flew civilian passengers to space in June 2024 before pausing its spaceflight program.
—Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 6 May 2026
However, Xbox is clearly pausing any AI plans to refocus on attracting gamers to its consoles and services.
—James Peckham, PC Magazine, 6 May 2026
The hours are long and constant, beginning before dawn and not so much ending as pausing between whatever race, workout, catastrophe, or vet visit is next on the calendar.
—Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 2 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pausing
hesitating
Verb
-
Right now, Taylor said, both sides are hesitating.—
Rachel Barber,
USA Today,
8 May 2026
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Walgreens isn’t hesitating to close stores in parts of Chicago where theft is frequent and there are legitimate concerns about the safety of employees and customers.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
6 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Pausing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pausing. Accessed 19 May. 2026.
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