as in hesitating
to come to a temporary halt in one's activity
he paused for a moment to regain his composure
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Recent Examples of pausing
After pausing for the intermission between the 15-minute extra time halves, Argentina found their footing again and once again took the lead.
—
Jacob Lev,
CNN Money,
3 July 2026
In a joint opinion piece published in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in late May, the two officials endorsed pausing the development of new data centers in Little Rock.
—
Joseph Flaherty,
Arkansas Online,
1 July 2026
Turning a game of two halves into one of four quarters, pausing a sport that derives much of its power and mystique from a clock that never stops, has been universally unpopular.
—
Scott Roxborough,
HollywoodReporter,
29 June 2026
Bobbie Robinson says business collaboration is better than pausing new liquor licenses.
—
Monique John,
CBS News,
28 June 2026
Lionel Richie is pausing his return to the stage after abruptly falling ill during the opening of his new tour.
—
Edward Segarra,
USA Today,
27 June 2026
Practice pausing instead of reacting.
—
Marie Unger,
Forbes.com,
25 June 2026
But her earlier observation about how her students had changed over the years is worth pausing on, too.
—
Manoush Zomorodi,
STAT,
24 June 2026
But when county staff in March pitched the idea of pausing some future construction projects while reassessing financial realities, multiple commissioners suggested changing up or scrapping the resource center plans due to their high cost.
—
Mary Ramsey,
Charlotte Observer,
24 June 2026
Jacob Lev,
CNN Money,
3 July 2026
In a joint opinion piece published in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in late May, the two officials endorsed pausing the development of new data centers in Little Rock.
—
Joseph Flaherty,
Arkansas Online,
1 July 2026
Turning a game of two halves into one of four quarters, pausing a sport that derives much of its power and mystique from a clock that never stops, has been universally unpopular.
—
Scott Roxborough,
HollywoodReporter,
29 June 2026
Bobbie Robinson says business collaboration is better than pausing new liquor licenses.
—
Monique John,
CBS News,
28 June 2026
Lionel Richie is pausing his return to the stage after abruptly falling ill during the opening of his new tour.
—
Edward Segarra,
USA Today,
27 June 2026
Practice pausing instead of reacting.
—
Marie Unger,
Forbes.com,
25 June 2026
But her earlier observation about how her students had changed over the years is worth pausing on, too.
—
Manoush Zomorodi,
STAT,
24 June 2026
But when county staff in March pitched the idea of pausing some future construction projects while reassessing financial realities, multiple commissioners suggested changing up or scrapping the resource center plans due to their high cost.
—
Mary Ramsey,
Charlotte Observer,
24 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pausing
hesitating
Verb
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The book does often feel like a recording of a mental jam session, but there is also a sense of being guided by a kind of hesitating yet urgent voice that needs to get things figured out.
-
While their rivals started spending significant sums of money as soon as the 2024-25 season finished, Spurs wasted a couple of weeks hesitating about the long-term future of then head coach Ange Postecoglou before replacing him with Thomas Frank.
Cite this Entry
“Pausing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pausing. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
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