holding off

verb

Definition of holding offnext
present participle of hold off
1
as in turning back

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in putting off

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for holding off
  1. postponing
  2. deferring
  3. resisting
  4. opposing
Verb
  • Donald Glover has made the decision to cancel the rest of his Childish Gambino tour dates in North America and the United Kingdom, after postponing them last month.
    Christy Piña, The Hollywood Reporter, 4 Oct. 2024
  • After a three-month period of postponing public-facing duties, the King resumed forward-facing work on April 30 and has been busy ever since.
    Rachel Burchfield, People.com, 3 Oct. 2024
Definition of postponing
Verb
  • But deferring difficult foreign policy choices leaves the United States with worse options later on.
    Christopher S. Chivvis, Foreign Affairs, 14 Oct. 2024
  • Spirit has been working toward improving its financial position this year, executing a restructuring plan that involves changing routes, deferring new aircraft deliveries, cutting 32 routes, and adding new premium tiers for passenger service and experience.
    Megan Poinski, Forbes, 7 Oct. 2024
Definition of deferring
Verb
  • In July, a 17-year-old girl was charged with resisting arrest and interfering with a law enforcement investigation.
    ProPublica, ProPublica, 3 Oct. 2024
  • Key Background Biden dropped out of the race on July 21 after resisting calls from within his own party for weeks to end his reelection bid in the wake of his disastrous performance in the June 27 debate.
    Sara Dorn, Forbes, 3 Oct. 2024
Definition of resisting
Verb
  • By contrast, a PAC opposing the proposition had raised just shy of a million dollars.
    Rachel Monroe, The New Yorker, 4 Oct. 2024
  • Nationwide, more factions are forming within the Republican Party because of internal tensions between opposing ideologies, said Dave Hopkins, a political science professor at Boston College.
    Hannah Pinski, The Courier-Journal, 4 Oct. 2024
Definition of opposing
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.

Thesaurus Entries Near holding off

holding (in)

holding off

holding off (on)

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Holding off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/holding%20off. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.

Copy Citation

Share

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See All

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Plural and Possessive Names: A Guide

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See All

Popular in Wordplay

See All

8 Words with Fascinating Histories

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments

Birds Say the Darndest Things

10 Words from Taylor Swift Songs (Merriam's Version)

10 Scrabble Words Without Any Vowels
See All

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
silhouette of a man with a megaphone against a british flag
Another Great British Vocabulary Quiz, Innit? A double-decker quiz with words from across the pond