as in to hesitate
to come to a temporary halt in one's activity
he paused for a moment to regain his composure
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in lull
a momentary halt in an activity
there was a brief pause for applause in her speech
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in hesitation
a state or an instance of temporary inaction because of uncertainty about the right course of action
the question caught the professor off guard, and there was a pause before he responded
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of pause
Ken Alltucker, USA TODAY, 5 Mar. 2025
Trump is open to additional tariff exemptions after pausing duties on automakers, a White House spokesperson said.
—Spencer Kimball,kevin Breuninger,jesse Pound, CNBC, 5 Mar. 2025
Christian Ruth, The Conversation, 5 Mar. 2025
President Donald Trump has ordered a pause on all military aid to Ukraine following a disastrous and remarkable meeting last week with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House, Bloomberg and the Associated Press reported.
—Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 4 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pause
Verb
And the future of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau − an agency that extended protections to consumers with medical debt − is uncertain after President Donald Trump fired Director Rohit Chopra and appointed a new director, Russell Vought, who paused the agency's work.
—Ken Alltucker, USA TODAY, 5 Mar. 2025
Trump is open to additional tariff exemptions after pausing duties on automakers, a White House spokesperson said.
—Spencer Kimball,kevin Breuninger,jesse Pound, CNBC, 5 Mar. 2025
Noun
Reuters reported that a senior USAID official wrote in a March 2 internal memo that a yearlong pause in USAID’s work on health, food and agriculture in the world’s poorest countries would raise malaria deaths by 40%, to between 71,000 and 166,000 annually.
—Christian Ruth, The Conversation, 5 Mar. 2025
President Donald Trump has ordered a pause on all military aid to Ukraine following a disastrous and remarkable meeting last week with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House, Bloomberg and the Associated Press reported.
—Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 4 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pause
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pause
Verb
-
These jets were responsible for Nasrallah's demise, and Israel will not hesitate to strike other Hezbollah leaders as necessary.—
Ross Rosenfeld,
Newsweek,
26 Feb. 2025
-
By removing cost as an initial hurdle, companies can cast a wider net, reaching customers who might otherwise hesitate to make a purchase.—
Alexander Puutio,
Forbes,
26 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Following a roughly nine-month lull, there have been 22 reports of the odd spinning behavior involving sawfish in waters around the Florida Keys since December, the state Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reported.—
Curt Anderson,
Sun Sentinel,
5 Mar. 2025
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Staff chat in Spanish during the occasional lull between rushes and fresh tortillas perfume the air, making the space feel like a friend’s dining room.—
Edmund Tijerina,
Bon Appétit,
27 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
Taking small steps toward dating and being open to new experiences can help break the cycle of hesitation.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes,
27 Feb. 2025
-
But as the weeks passed, Minnie's initial hesitation turned into affection.—
Tom Rogers,
Newsweek,
22 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
This is a breaking news story and will be updated shortly.—
Karen Gilchrist,
CNBC,
5 Mar. 2025
-
Every woman has within her the potential to break the boundaries.—
Joan Michelson,
Forbes,
5 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
Will this tear the — takes deep breath — California Girls apart?—
Dalton Ross,
EW.com,
27 Feb. 2025
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But with the next breath, Khan added an important caveat.—
Mike DeFabo,
The Athletic,
26 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
Nothing has been said officially in this regard, but perhaps some of the apparent hesitancy of coaches or Concacaf representatives to speak publicly on the matter in the immediate aftermath was based on speculation that the likely true nature of events involved some sort of misunderstanding.—
Ian Nicholas Quillen,
Forbes,
4 Mar. 2025
-
And Patton’s memorable opening speech hints at the film’s hesitancy about turning men into myths.—
Will Leitch,
Vulture,
3 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Studies have shown that a typical task takes one third longer than undertaking the same task with no email interruptions.—
Aytekin Tank,
Forbes,
6 Mar. 2025
-
The synthesized voice was expressive and dynamic, imitating breath sounds, chuckles, interruptions, and even sometimes stumbling over words and correcting itself.—
Ars Technica,
Ars Technica,
4 Mar. 2025
Noun
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This patience and hesitance to pay up when the market looked good in early trading has served us well so far.—
Jeff Marks,
CNBC,
27 Feb. 2025
-
President-elect Trump is encountering some unlikely openness from Democrats — and hesitance and confusion from Republicans — with his talk of acquiring Greenland and the Panama Canal.—
Andrew Solender,
Axios,
9 Jan. 2025
Articles Related to pause
Cite this Entry
“Pause.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pause. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.
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