TOUCHED OFF Synonyms: 68 Similar and Opposite Words

touched off

verb

past tense of touch off

as in activated

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

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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 touched off The meeting touched off a month of around-the-clock calls and video conferences. — Cate Brown, ProPublica, 21 Oct. 2026 Trump’s tariffs on Canada, for example, have touched off a trade war with one of the United States’ closest allies. — Kim Hjelmgaard, USA Today, 5 Sep. 2026 Not since voters passed Proposition 13, an iconic property tax limit, in 1978 and touched off tax revolts in other states has a California measure potentially affected America’s taxation policies so broadly. — Dan Walters, Mercury News, 27 Aug. 2026 The controversy was touched off by a New York Post report that Gordillo lives in a spacious Bedford-Stuyvesant dwelling bought by his parents that is now undergoing renovations. — Josephine Stratman, New York Daily News, 24 Aug. 2026 Meanwhile, an electric color palette of zingy greens, bold reds, and Prussian blues–touched off with plenty of black accents–amplifies the property’s wildly original juxtaposition of antiquity and modernity. — Alexandra Kirkman, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2026 The still-unknown circumstances around Wells’ death have touched off rampant online speculation and prompted calls from Black leaders for transparency from local authorities. — ABC News, 21 July 2026 The receivership touched off a painful community journey that brought on job reductions, layoffs and school closures as enrollment sharply declined. — Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times, 9 July 2026 The order prompted the company to disable all global access to the two advanced systems and touched off intensive talks toward a resolution. — Josh Wingrove, Fortune, 27 June 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for touched off

Verb

Two letters redirect actions MuTRAP is a backdoor attack, also known as a Trojan attack, in which malicious behavior is embedded in a model and activated only when a specific trigger appears.

— Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 21 Oct. 2026
Officers then activated their emergency lights and pulled over Licona Amador's truck, prosecutors said.

— Michael Sinkewicz, FOXNews.com, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of activated

Verb

This action would have triggered a kilonova while also liberating a lot of material, stuff that would take its time falling onto the black hole and fueling longer jets.

— Robin George Andrews, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
Goldman estimated that active funds benchmarked to MSCI and FTSE indexes hold more than $8 billion in Indonesian equities, although any selling by these investors would be discretionary rather than automatically triggered by a downgrade.

— Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 19 Oct. 2026

Definition of triggered

Verb

The deputy pointed to Les Républicains leader and presidential candidate Bruno Retailleau, who was interior minister in 2023 when police shot a teenager of Algerian-Moroccan descent and sparked nationwide protests.

— Timothy Nerozzi, The Washington Examiner, 22 Oct. 2026
The couple first sparked romance rumors in November 2025 after they were photographed together in New York City.

— Danielle Minnetian, FOXNews.com, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of sparked

Verb

Authorities said in July that income and gains from overseas trusts owned by Chinese tax residents would be taxed at 20%, setting off a scramble for cash and alternative structures.

— Anniek Bao, CNBC, 23 Oct. 2026
As Prue and Curtis struggle to unravel the twisty lore of the obstacle-laden forest in their search for Mac, their outsider presence inadvertently sets off a long-festering showdown for control of the forest between its warring factions.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of set off

Verb

The homeowner didn’t charge him rent, and the truck Buchanan drove was a gift, the woman told agents.

— Matthew Ormseth, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2026
An Australian data center operator’s profit warning drove its stock down as much as 44%, while dozens of large facilities have been blocked or delayed in the US this year by opposition from locals.

— Prashant Rao, semafor.com, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of drove

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touched down

touched off

touched (on)

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“Touched off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/touched%20off. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of touched off

verb

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