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

That $5 trillion pool of capital globally has touched off a feeding frenzy on Wall Street to help family offices manage their money. —Robert Frank, CNBC, 5 Sep. 2024

The formation of the Harris/Walz ticket has touched off an intense national debate over... punctuation. —Mike Allen, Axios, 14 Aug. 2024

Until a goofy tweet in February 2011 touched off a goofy Kickstarter campaign and endless roadblocks, for instance, he had never been interviewed on an Australian morning-zoo radio show. —Neal Rubin, Detroit Free Press, 11 July 2024

Tim Walz was just over a year into his first term as Minnesota governor when a Minneapolis police officer murdered George Floyd in May 2020, touching off a generation-defining summer of global protests against police brutality and racial inequality. —Christian Paz, Vox, 7 Aug. 2024