1
as in turning back
to drive back
managed to stave off the invaders
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in preventing
to keep from happening by taking action in advance
the quartermaster staved off a shortage by requisitioning more than enough supplies
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of staving off
Maintaining ties with Tehran is crucial for containing domestic tensions and staving off an insurgency from the minority Baloch community there.
—
Kyra Colah, FOXNews.com, 23 Mar. 2026
McCarthy stood on his head for much of the final 25 minutes, staving off 17 shots through the third period and first overtime.
—Tom Mulherin, Boston Herald, 15 Mar. 2026
To his credit, Onana remained at the heart of the battle and was evidently key to Villa staving off Bournemouth’s set-play threat.
—Jacob Tanswell, New York Times, 9 Feb. 2026
Gibney illustrates that state of waiting, of staving off what at that time appears to be the inevitable, with the famous sequence from Ingmar Bergman’s The Seventh Seal, in which Max von Sydow’s medieval knight plays chess with Death on a desolate beach.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 25 Jan. 2026
The original language of the Clean Water Act – which is widely credited with staving off and, in some cases, reversing water pollution for more than a half-century – explicitly mentions environmental and human health, yet says nothing about economic prosperity.
—Andre Mouchard, Oc Register, 18 Jan. 2026
Your book is full of practical strategies for staving off digital exhaustion.
—Deborah Vankin, Los Angeles Times, 13 Jan. 2026
Rather than reaching for the same basic jeans over and over again, celebrities have been staving off sartorial-boredom with outfit-making pants.
—Kaelin Dodge, InStyle, 12 Jan. 2026
But when cold weather rushes in, a good eye mask becomes essential for staving off dark circles, dry skin, and the puffiness that follows a late night of caviar, blinis, and martinis (‘tis the season to indulge, after all).
—Jenny Berg, Vogue, 27 Oct. 2025
Kyra Colah, FOXNews.com, 23 Mar. 2026
McCarthy stood on his head for much of the final 25 minutes, staving off 17 shots through the third period and first overtime.
—Tom Mulherin, Boston Herald, 15 Mar. 2026
To his credit, Onana remained at the heart of the battle and was evidently key to Villa staving off Bournemouth’s set-play threat.
—Jacob Tanswell, New York Times, 9 Feb. 2026
Gibney illustrates that state of waiting, of staving off what at that time appears to be the inevitable, with the famous sequence from Ingmar Bergman’s The Seventh Seal, in which Max von Sydow’s medieval knight plays chess with Death on a desolate beach.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 25 Jan. 2026
The original language of the Clean Water Act – which is widely credited with staving off and, in some cases, reversing water pollution for more than a half-century – explicitly mentions environmental and human health, yet says nothing about economic prosperity.
—Andre Mouchard, Oc Register, 18 Jan. 2026
Your book is full of practical strategies for staving off digital exhaustion.
—Deborah Vankin, Los Angeles Times, 13 Jan. 2026
Rather than reaching for the same basic jeans over and over again, celebrities have been staving off sartorial-boredom with outfit-making pants.
—Kaelin Dodge, InStyle, 12 Jan. 2026
But when cold weather rushes in, a good eye mask becomes essential for staving off dark circles, dry skin, and the puffiness that follows a late night of caviar, blinis, and martinis (‘tis the season to indulge, after all).
—Jenny Berg, Vogue, 27 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for staving off
Verb
-
According to police paperwork, Prut chased the man across the street before turning back to take the tool from the van and the keys to the vehicle.—
Erika Stanish,
CBS News,
3 Apr. 2026
-
Orion will zoom 4,000 miles (6,400 kilometers) beyond the moon before turning back, providing unprecedented and illuminated views of the lunar far side, at least for human eyes.—
Marcia Dunn,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The president has repeatedly said preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon was the war's top objective.—
Saman Shafiq,
USA Today,
2 Apr. 2026
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Awareness over new laws designed for protection and legislation that stops short of holding websites and social media platforms accountable have posed hurdles to preventing the harm.—
Miguel Torres,
AZCentral.com,
1 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Border policy used in past administrations The practice of not letting an asylum-seeker pass through a checkpoint was used periodically during the Obama administration, when border officers began turning away hundreds of Haitian asylum-seekers at ports of entry in California.—
Maureen Groppe,
USA Today,
24 Mar. 2026
-
Hospitals ran out of blood, and started turning away patients.—
Cora Engelbrecht,
New Yorker,
20 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Understanding the gravity of a red flag warning and adhering to these precautions is paramount in averting wildfires during these perilous conditions.—
KANSAS CITY STAR WEATHER BOT,
Kansas City Star,
21 Mar. 2026
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The scene plays out as if the actors are politely averting their eyes while performing, without conjuring the deep moral revulsion Wolfe and LaChiusa might’ve intended.—
Jackson McHenry,
Vulture,
19 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The housekeeping team fogs the balés every week to keep most of the biting insects at bay, and gardens teeming with mosquito-repelling lemongrass and zodia plants help keep them at a distance.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
31 Mar. 2026
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In any context, everyone is justified in resisting or repelling any invasion of their person or property, extracting restitution or exacting punishment in response to an invasion, or helping someone else do the same.—
Connor Okeeffe,
Oc Register,
29 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Both of the Kelce brothers went to Cincinnati before heading off to their respective NFL careers.—
Rachel Burchfield,
InStyle,
2 Apr. 2026
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Happy families and college students heading off on spring break vacations are being helped every day by 61,000 unpaid TSA workers.—
Trevor Hughes,
USA Today,
24 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Pride should come from your willingness to improve, not from resisting uncomfortable truths.—
Johnny C. Taylor Jr,
USA Today,
31 Mar. 2026
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One individual was also charged with complicity, and another was charged with resisting arrest, the department said.—
Julia Bonavita,
FOXNews.com,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
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While there are dismemberments and other bits of gruesome violence to be found in the film, Badlands is largely aimed at endearing its audience rather than repulsing them.—
Richard Lawson,
HollywoodReporter,
4 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Staving off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/staving%20off. Accessed 7 Apr. 2026.
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