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

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 touched off The change touched off an explosion of betting across America. — David K. Li, NBC news, 29 Oct. 2026 CrowdStrike and Palo Alto Networks were our two biggest winners last week — both up more than 11% as news of the security flaws in the PHP programming language touched off a global security scramble. — Alexa Lomonaco, CNBC, 24 Oct. 2026 The meeting touched off a month of around-the-clock calls and video conferences. — Cate Brown, ProPublica, 21 Oct. 2026 Trump then went on to describe element of the ad, which has touched off a furor. — Marisela Cruz Jillian Anthony Marisela Cruz, New York Times, 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for touched off
  1. activated
  2. triggered
  3. sparked
  4. set off
  5. drove
Verb
  • About 32 minutes later, the camera was activated again as Derek left the apartment.
    — Kelsy Mittauer, CBS News, 11 Nov. 2026
  • Once activated in the brain, the cells can hunt tumor cells carrying proteins called EphA2 or IL13Rα2.
    — Melissa Fleur Afshar, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Nov. 2026
Definition of activated
Verb
  • The kitchen fire triggered water damage from the restaurant’s sprinkler system that left the place in need of top-to-bottom renovations that went on much longer than expected.
    — Heidi Finley, Charlotte Observer, 2 Nov. 2026
  • However, surging profits have not triggered a wave of new refinery construction.
    — , CNBC, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of triggered
Verb
  • Grant sparked an 8-0 run to start the game by making a 3-pointer and then adding two assists on the next two buckets during the run.
    — Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 13 Nov. 2026
  • According to the producer, those titles sparked travel interest among Indian viewers at home and in the diaspora, with tourism boards logging more inquiries from fans keen to visit the locations.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 12 Nov. 2026
Definition of sparked
Verb
  • The verdict came just three days after regulators seized Ueno Bank, cutting nearly 3 million customers off from their savings and bank cards and setting off a political crisis.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 7 Nov. 2026
  • For Republicans, the defeat set off something close to an existential crisis, and debate over how to regroup.
    — Kevin Rector, Los Angeles Times, 6 Nov. 2026
Definition of set off
Verb
  • Back-to-back disasters — the Caldor Fire in 2021 and cold snaps in April 2022 — drove wine producers, who often sign multiyear contracts, to seek grapes elsewhere.
    — Daniel Lempres, Sacbee.com, 12 Nov. 2026
  • Witnesses told police that a Silver Kia drove head-on into a white Volkswagen Jetta and then into a semi-truck.
    — Chelsea Hylton, CBS News, 12 Nov. 2026
Definition of drove

Browse Nearby Words

touched down
touched off
touched (on)
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Touched off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/touched%20off. Accessed 13 Nov. 2026.

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