touched off

verb

Definition of touched offnext
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

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for touched off
  1. activated
  2. sparked
  3. set off
  4. drove
Verb
  • Pepperdine University, located near the fire, has activated its shelter-in-place protocol.
    Joseph Epstein, Newsweek, 10 Dec. 2024
  • The research team plans to investigate the brain regions activated during the simultaneous experience of drug rewards and aversive cues.
    Srishti Gupta, Interesting Engineering, 9 Dec. 2024
Definition of activated
Verb
  • Embers had sparked tiny flare-ups on the school grounds, setting palm trees ablaze.
    Corina Knoll, New York Times, 11 Dec. 2024
  • The fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on December 4, outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel, has sparked boardroom conversations about whether companies need to ramp up protection for C-suite executives.
    Kelly Phillips Erb, Forbes, 11 Dec. 2024
Definition of sparked
Verb
  • The shooting set off a massive search, with investigators now offering a total reward of $60,000 for information that leads to an arrest and conviction.
    Jeanine Santucci, USA TODAY, 8 Dec. 2024
  • Most notably, the Alaskan earthquake of 1964 set off a catastrophic tsunami that devastated Crescent City, washing away 29 city blocks and killing at least 11 people.
    Grace Toohey, Los Angeles Times, 6 Dec. 2024
Definition of set off
Verb
  • That’s what really drove me to put it all on paper.
    Dave Knox, Forbes, 11 Dec. 2024
  • The small asteroid is named for the Greek mythology character who drove the Sun god Helios' chariot because of the asteroid's close approach to the Sun, according to NASA.
    Jenna Prestininzi, Detroit Free Press, 11 Dec. 2024
Definition of drove
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 touched off

touched down

touched off

touched (on)

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Touched off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/touched%20off. Accessed 22 Dec. 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

Point of View: It's Personal

Plural and Possessive Names: A Guide

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

More Commonly Misspelled Words

Words You Always Have to Look Up
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
naughty or nice
Are you naughty or nice? Quiz He's making a quiz, and checking it twice...