Synonyms of touch off

touch off

verb

as in to trigger

to cause to function

his obscene comment touched off a heated debate about the need for censorship on live broadcasts

Synonyms & Similar Words

• trigger
• activate
• spark
• drive
• set off
• power
• move
• turn on
• generate
• start
• fuel
• crank (up)
• run
• actuate
• ignite
• provoke
• charge
• push
• turn over
• fire
• kick over
• launch
• stir up
• switch
• stimulate
• release
• electrify
• energize
• trip
• discharge
• speed (up)
• step up
• reactivate
• recharge
• accelerate
• arouse
• excite
• incite
• catalyze
• quicken
• jump-start
• instigate
• kick-start
• vitalize

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• shut off
• cut out
• cut
• kill
• turn off
• cut off
• check
• stop
• draw up
• brake
• stick
• arrest
• halt
• deactivate
• slow
• suppress
• stall
• jam
• repress
• decelerate
• stunt

Examples of touch off in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Then Iran shot down a U.S. drone, nearly touching off an open conflict with the United States. —Ilan Goldenberg, Foreign Affairs, 3 Jan. 2020

That touched off a political whirlwind that quickly saw Harris, a former U.S. senator and state attorney general from California, become the first Black woman and South Asian woman to secure a major party's nomination for president. —Todd Spangler, Detroit Free Press, 8 Aug. 2024

The bottom line: The shooting has touched off a bipartisan flurry of congressional scrutiny into security for presidential candidates. —Juliegrace Brufke, Axios, 16 July 2024

However, those passes were often a touch off or missed the mark, and the one time that the US put the ball in the net in the first 45 minutes was called back for offside. —Kyle Feldscher, CNN, 16 July 2024