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
Though tension from your peers or co-workers may impede your drive, pausing to talk things out should minimize any issues.
—
Tarot.com, New York Daily News, 9 Apr. 2026
According to Bloomberg, OpenAI is pausing its planned Stargate data center project in the UK, highlighting how even the most aggressive AI infrastructure buildouts are running up against real-world constraints like energy costs and regulation.
—Sharon Goldman, Fortune, 9 Apr. 2026
Another shows an officer pausing during the raid to stare at a cake on the kitchen counter.
—Ben Crandell, Sun Sentinel, 9 Apr. 2026
Meanwhile, Sawyer-Williams is restarting the lowest dose of the pill after pausing the drug due to gastrointestinal side effects.
—Annika Kim Constantino, CNBC, 7 Apr. 2026
Not surprisingly, some homebuyers are now pausing their plans.
—Tim Maxwell, CBS News, 7 Apr. 2026
Physically frail, yet in full verbal command, Julian doesn’t talk to Lori so much as at her, pausing only to fire off questions that harden, in midair, into assumptions.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 3 Apr. 2026
Trump blinked, pausing and watering down many of those tariffs in response to extreme market pressure.
—Matt Egan, CNN Money, 2 Apr. 2026
Caltrain has attempted to implement cost-cutting measures to reduce its overhead costs by pausing new hires, improving crew efficiency, and reducing professional services and other non-labor expenses.
—Noe Padilla, USA Today, 2 Apr. 2026
Tarot.com, New York Daily News, 9 Apr. 2026
According to Bloomberg, OpenAI is pausing its planned Stargate data center project in the UK, highlighting how even the most aggressive AI infrastructure buildouts are running up against real-world constraints like energy costs and regulation.
—Sharon Goldman, Fortune, 9 Apr. 2026
Another shows an officer pausing during the raid to stare at a cake on the kitchen counter.
—Ben Crandell, Sun Sentinel, 9 Apr. 2026
Meanwhile, Sawyer-Williams is restarting the lowest dose of the pill after pausing the drug due to gastrointestinal side effects.
—Annika Kim Constantino, CNBC, 7 Apr. 2026
Not surprisingly, some homebuyers are now pausing their plans.
—Tim Maxwell, CBS News, 7 Apr. 2026
Physically frail, yet in full verbal command, Julian doesn’t talk to Lori so much as at her, pausing only to fire off questions that harden, in midair, into assumptions.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 3 Apr. 2026
Trump blinked, pausing and watering down many of those tariffs in response to extreme market pressure.
—Matt Egan, CNN Money, 2 Apr. 2026
Caltrain has attempted to implement cost-cutting measures to reduce its overhead costs by pausing new hires, improving crew efficiency, and reducing professional services and other non-labor expenses.
—Noe Padilla, USA Today, 2 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pausing
hesitating
Verb
-
The Academy seems comfortable celebrating individual excellence within horror while hesitating to crown its films as definitive achievements.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
17 Mar. 2026
-
Palmer is the center of the film and building the cast around her initially had Riley hesitating.—
Mikey O'Connell,
HollywoodReporter,
13 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Pausing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pausing. Accessed 11 Apr. 2026.
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