STAVED OFF Synonyms: 93 Similar and Opposite Words

staved off

verb

Definition of staved off next

past tense of stave off

as in repulsed

to drive back managed to stave off the invaders

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in prevented

to keep from happening by taking action in advance the quartermaster staved off a shortage by requisitioning more than enough supplies

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 staved off That threat, which critics warned could be a war crime if carried out, appears to have been staved off for now. —

Alexandra Banner, CNN Money, 8 Apr. 2026 That threat, which critics warned could be a war crime if carried out, appears to have been staved off for now at the 11th hour. —

Cnn.com Wire Service, Mercury News, 8 Apr. 2026 Only 2200 of them remain, having staved off swells of economic uncertainty, retaining their Irish accents and ways of life. —

Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 Apr. 2026 And this was on a night when Doncic scored 41 points on 15-of-25 shooting (5 for 10 from 3-point range) as the Lakers staved off the Brooklyn Nets, finally pulling away for a 116-99 win on Friday night, their 11th victory in 12 games. —

Benjamin Royer, Oc Register, 28 Mar. 2026 While other local stores struggled, Outpost weathered the COVID-19 pandemic with support from its members and staved off staff cuts, according to Margaret Mittelstadt, director of community relations and Outpost staff member since 2004. —

Francesca Pica, jsonline.com, 23 Mar. 2026 But the Rams staved off the running clock with reserve Jordan Houston draining a 3-point shot and another basket. —

Buddy Collings, The Orlando Sentinel, 13 Mar. 2026 But the penalty kill, led by goalie Matt Wright (12 saves), staved off the first to get back to one-man down, and Ryan scooped a loose puck from the neutral zone for a drive to the net. —

Tom Mulherin, Boston Herald, 8 Mar. 2026 The University of Miami women’s basketball team, back in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament after missing out last season, staved off a furious comeback by Stanford to win the opening game 83-76 in overtime on Wednesday. —

Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 4 Mar. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for staved off

Verb

Pheidippides, legendary Greek hēmerodromos, or courier, who is popularly believed to have run 40 km (about 25 miles) from the battlefield at Marathon to Athens in 490 bce, to report that the Athenians, in a single afternoon, had repulsed the first Persian invasion of Greece.

— Gitanjali Roy, Encyclopedia Britannica, 30 Mar. 2026
Cilantro, a polarizing herb that’s either adored in Mexican, Southeast Asian, and Indian cuisines, or repulsed by those who detect a nauseating soapy taste.

— Catharine Kaufman, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Mar. 2026