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
In November, Adele endured backlash from fans for pausing her Las Vegas residency.
—
Megan Cartwright, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Sep. 2025
Nearly half of mothers (49%) say that costs affect their decision to have more children, while 24% have decided to have fewer children, and 25% are delaying or pausing their plans altogether.
—Jennifer Jay Palumbo, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
The sweeping injunction was upheld by a federal appeals court, and the DOJ asked the Supreme Court earlier this month to issue an order pausing the restrictions.
—Jack Birle, The Washington Examiner, 1 Sep. 2025
The actor — sporting a white tux jacket — beamed and clapped throughout the ovation, only pausing to embrace Olivier Assayas.
—Alex Ritman, Variety, 31 Aug. 2025
The sculpture, unveiled by the artist Eric Fischl in 2000 and titled Soul in Flight, is worth pausing to look at, for its instructive power and its indictment of the ponderous slabs of metallurgical debris that litter other stadiums and arenas.
—Sally Jenkins, The Atlantic, 30 Aug. 2025
Should pausing military aid be on the table?
—Tom Bowman, NPR, 28 Aug. 2025
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday that the administration was pausing all issuance of worker visas for foreign truck drivers.
—Tara Suter, The Hill, 28 Aug. 2025
Mother Mary Comes to Me mostly proceeds in a straight line through Roy’s life, but the author can’t resist editorializing or indulging in frequent asides, pausing the action to tell the reader how something will unfold.
—Madeline Leung Coleman, Vulture, 27 Aug. 2025
Megan Cartwright, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Sep. 2025
Nearly half of mothers (49%) say that costs affect their decision to have more children, while 24% have decided to have fewer children, and 25% are delaying or pausing their plans altogether.
—Jennifer Jay Palumbo, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
The sweeping injunction was upheld by a federal appeals court, and the DOJ asked the Supreme Court earlier this month to issue an order pausing the restrictions.
—Jack Birle, The Washington Examiner, 1 Sep. 2025
The actor — sporting a white tux jacket — beamed and clapped throughout the ovation, only pausing to embrace Olivier Assayas.
—Alex Ritman, Variety, 31 Aug. 2025
The sculpture, unveiled by the artist Eric Fischl in 2000 and titled Soul in Flight, is worth pausing to look at, for its instructive power and its indictment of the ponderous slabs of metallurgical debris that litter other stadiums and arenas.
—Sally Jenkins, The Atlantic, 30 Aug. 2025
Should pausing military aid be on the table?
—Tom Bowman, NPR, 28 Aug. 2025
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday that the administration was pausing all issuance of worker visas for foreign truck drivers.
—Tara Suter, The Hill, 28 Aug. 2025
Mother Mary Comes to Me mostly proceeds in a straight line through Roy’s life, but the author can’t resist editorializing or indulging in frequent asides, pausing the action to tell the reader how something will unfold.
—Madeline Leung Coleman, Vulture, 27 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pausing
hesitating
Verb
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As adults, this pattern can look like hesitating to ask for help, avoiding vulnerability or keeping emotional struggles private, even from those closest to you.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
28 Aug. 2025
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Concerns about the economy and tariffs do have some companies hesitating to make long-term decisions, but even with that concern, more are taking on long-term leases than were a year ago, CBRE found.—
Diana Olick,
CNBC,
7 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pausing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pausing. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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