as in triggering
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
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of touching off
As San Jose police and other law enforcement agencies converged on the site, authorities say Husien rushed a police sergeant who had just arrived and opened fire, touching off a close-range gunfight in which the sergeant was grazed in the head by a bullet.
—
Robert Salonga, Mercury News, 28 Jan. 2026
The Facebook post has been viewed more than 140,000 times, touching off hundreds of comments over driver responsibility and technology.
—David R. Smith, USA Today, 16 Oct. 2025
Williams said, touching off laughter.
—Tom Murphy, Arkansas Online, 12 Sep. 2025
Robert Salonga, Mercury News, 28 Jan. 2026
The Facebook post has been viewed more than 140,000 times, touching off hundreds of comments over driver responsibility and technology.
—David R. Smith, USA Today, 16 Oct. 2025
Williams said, touching off laughter.
—Tom Murphy, Arkansas Online, 12 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for touching off
Verb
-
Paying the tax typically requires selling assets or borrowing against them, triggering capital gains taxes, leverage risks, and further distortions.—
Veronique De Rugy,
Oc Register,
5 Feb. 2026
-
Illnesses like the flu can also lead to dehydration, triggering headaches and other symptoms.—
Jillian Kubala,
Health,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
In response, Walz issued an executive order activating cyber-security specialists from the Minnesota National Guard, and the FBI and private consultants quickly became involved.—
Frederick Melo,
Twin Cities,
12 Feb. 2026
-
To fix the issue for customers, Toyota dealers will modify the left and right rear door switch circuits to prevent them from activating, even if a short occurs.—
Alex Perry,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Ramos and his father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, were taken from their snowy suburban Minneapolis driveway last month to a family detention center in Dilley, Texas, sparking widespread outrage.—
Ray Sanchez,
CNN Money,
8 Feb. 2026
-
Inmates across the country have died or been hospitalized due to hypothermia, sparking lawsuits, criminal charges and watchdog reports that raise concerns about how well jails and prisons respond to the cold.—
N'dea Yancey-Bragg,
USA Today,
8 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Thought about driving a race car.—
Dana O’Neil,
CNN Money,
15 Feb. 2026
-
In addition to the effects of the pandemic and tariffs, climate issues — drought in Vietnam, heavy rain in Indonesia, and hot, dry weather in Brazil — are blamed for reducing yields of coffee crops and driving up global prices.—
Matt Sedensky,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Some need more power than a small city, more than any utility has ever supplied to a single user, setting off a race to build more power plants.—
Marc Levy,
Fortune,
13 Feb. 2026
-
Federal agents shot to death two civilians on the streets of Minneapolis, setting off protests nationwide as well as sending tens of thousands to the streets in that city.—
Josephine Stratman,
New York Daily News,
12 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
His naked self-dealing, weaponizing the Justice Department against his political foes, turning on our allies, the casino-fication of the White House — none of it bodes well for the future of our democracy, setting precedents that other presidents on both sides of the aisle could very well continue.—
S.E. Cupp,
New York Daily News,
4 Feb. 2026
-
Kay, of course, is referencing Whitney turning on Jonah by ousting him from his own company.—
Chris O'Falt,
IndieWire,
14 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Mostly, however, Gee’s sophisticated, stealthily moving film folds any bursts of emotion into its exquisitely dark shadows, letting Evans’ limpid but heartsore music do most of the weeping.—
Guy Lodge,
Variety,
13 Feb. 2026
-
Juliette Binoche has spent four decades embodying the restless intelligence of French and European cinema, moving effortlessly between auteurs and emotional registers.—
Scott Roxborough,
HollywoodReporter,
13 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Touching off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/touching%20off. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
