SETTING OFF Synonyms: 66 Similar and Opposite Words

setting off

verb

Definition of setting off next

present participle of set off

as in triggering

to cause to function set off a bomb

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of setting off Authorities said that in the moments leading up to the video, Husien shot at a police sergeant after the officer attempted to use his patrol vehicle to block the car Husien was driving, which police said had been taken in a carjacking, setting off a close-range gunfight at the sergeant’s SUV. —

Ethan Varian, Mercury News, 23 Jan. 2026 Overnight cold deflates tire pressure, setting off warning lights and cutting traction on icy roads. —

Nakell Williams, CBS News, 22 Jan. 2026 Thompson eluded law enforcement for hours — setting off a manhunt across a crime scene that stretched for 2 miles — before he was cornered in a shed, according to authorities. —

Thao Nguyen, USA Today, 22 Jan. 2026 The ball bounced off the hands of linebacker Eric Kendricks, fell to the turf and spun slowly and harmlessly into the north end zone at Lincoln Financial Field, setting off a raucous celebration on the San Francisco 49ers’ sideline befitting of the Barbary Coast in its post-Gold Rush heyday. —

Michael Silver, New York Times, 12 Jan. 2026 But instead Lane, then 34, ambushed her — setting off a violent scramble through the residence that left Wilkins unconscious, her fetus cut from her womb. —

Jillian Frankel, PEOPLE, 22 Oct. 2025 Even a weak storm could dump a ton of rain on the mountainous island of Hispaniola, potentially setting off life-threatening mudslides and flash flooding. —

Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 22 Oct. 2025 The biggest stop of the season came in the final seconds when the Hornets stopped the Bears on downs inside the 2, setting off a sideline celebration. —

Joe Davidson, Sacbee.com, 19 Oct. 2025 Produced by the Basra Cinema Center, of which Alkadumy is executive director, the film centers on Ahmed, a child with a speech impediment who is continually dismissed during Quranic lessons until defiance stirs within him, setting off a silent confrontation with his authoritative teacher. —

Essie Assibu, Variety, 17 Oct. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for setting off

Verb

If the offset resumed, some taxpayers would see their refunds reduced or eliminated, likely triggering headaches at the IRS, too, even though the IRS does not control offset decisions.

— Susan Tompor, USA Today, 29 Jan. 2026
The victims, all elementary school students, got into difficulty in a frozen pond in Bonham, a city about 60 miles northeast of Dallas, triggering a desperate effort by their mother and a neighbor to save them, FOX 4 reported.

— Michael Dorgan, FOXNews.com, 28 Jan. 2026