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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Recent Examples of touched off
That touched off an argument, during which Sweeney flashed a gun in his hip, according to the complaint.
—
Chris Ramirez, jsonline.com, 12 Dec. 2025
The gunfire touched off a mass panic as shoppers fled for the exits while mall security and San Jose police cleared the scene.
—Robert Salonga, Mercury News, 3 Dec. 2025
The shootings followed a September Free Press investigation that found at least 20% of department shootings in the past decade were touched off by nonviolent stops.
—Violet Ikonomova, Freep.com, 29 Nov. 2025
Carlson had an amiable sit-down on his podcast last month with Fuentes that touched off a controversy among conservatives.
—Michelle L. Price, Fortune, 17 Nov. 2025
Investigators said the gunfire stemmed from a dispute that touched off after two groups of young men left the basketball game between North Kansas City and Staley high schools.
—Nathan Pilling, Kansas City Star, 30 Oct. 2025
The killing of Massey, a mother of two who had long struggled with mental illness, touched off a wave of demonstrations and nationwide calls for police reform.
—Christopher Cann, USA Today, 29 Oct. 2025
The hit touched off a fight, and ended with Minnesota on a power play, which would produce their first goal of the night.
—Jess Myers, Twin Cities, 15 Oct. 2025
Their disappearance was not noticed for several hours and touched off a massive manhunt.
—Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 8 Oct. 2025
Chris Ramirez, jsonline.com, 12 Dec. 2025
The gunfire touched off a mass panic as shoppers fled for the exits while mall security and San Jose police cleared the scene.
—Robert Salonga, Mercury News, 3 Dec. 2025
The shootings followed a September Free Press investigation that found at least 20% of department shootings in the past decade were touched off by nonviolent stops.
—Violet Ikonomova, Freep.com, 29 Nov. 2025
Carlson had an amiable sit-down on his podcast last month with Fuentes that touched off a controversy among conservatives.
—Michelle L. Price, Fortune, 17 Nov. 2025
Investigators said the gunfire stemmed from a dispute that touched off after two groups of young men left the basketball game between North Kansas City and Staley high schools.
—Nathan Pilling, Kansas City Star, 30 Oct. 2025
The killing of Massey, a mother of two who had long struggled with mental illness, touched off a wave of demonstrations and nationwide calls for police reform.
—Christopher Cann, USA Today, 29 Oct. 2025
The hit touched off a fight, and ended with Minnesota on a power play, which would produce their first goal of the night.
—Jess Myers, Twin Cities, 15 Oct. 2025
Their disappearance was not noticed for several hours and touched off a massive manhunt.
—Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 8 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for touched off
Verb
-
And that was several weeks before Johnson pulled his shirt off after a statement 24-15 Black Friday victory over the Eagles, some spur-of-the-moment rambunctiousness that activated a free hot dog promotion at The Wiener’s Circle in Chicago.—
Dan Wiederer,
New York Times,
7 Jan. 2026
-
The school activated a hold-in-place, Granadillo explained, keeping students from leaving the classroom.—
Molly Morrow,
Chicago Tribune,
6 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The negative reviews — some going as far as calling All’s Fair the worst show ever with the worst acting — triggered a new media cycle of stories.—
Nellie Andreeva,
Deadline,
7 Nov. 2025
-
This triggered a state law requiring the campus to either be closed or for the school board to be replaced with a board of managers.—
Lina Ruiz,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
7 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Brown was 20 at the time, and Bongiovi was 22, which sparked some online controversy.—
Janelle Ash,
FOXNews.com,
8 Nov. 2025
-
Her research has sparked a collaboration with Umweltbundesamt, a federal agency in Germany focused on environmental research.—
NPR,
NPR,
8 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Before setting off, many migrants wrapped T-shirts around their faces as protection from the blistering sun.—
Daniel Gonzalez,
AZCentral.com,
6 Nov. 2025
-
The police set off to raid the premises.—
Mick Krever,
CNN Money,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
The suspect, who has not been publicly identified, was said to have intentionally drove into bicycle lanes to strike some of the cyclists, said Christophe Sueur, the mayor of Saint-Pierre d'Oleron.—
Tom Soufi Burridge,
ABC News,
5 Nov. 2025
-
Periodically, one or two cars drove up for a box of food, but otherwise, all was quiet.—
Silas Allen,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
5 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Touched off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/touched%20off. Accessed 8 Jan. 2026.
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